SEATTLE — Cal Raleigh hit his MLB-leading 59th and 60th home runs Wednesday night as the Seattle Mariners clinched the AL West with a 9-2 win over the Colorado Rockies.
His 59th was a solo shot in the first inning and his 60th was another solo homer in the eighth.
The Mariners, the lone big league team that has never been to a World Series, clinched the fourth division crown in the franchise’s 49-year history and the first since 2001, when they set an AL record with 116 wins.
“To do it in this fashion, on this night, in front of these fans, mom and dad, obviously, was really cool,” Raleigh said.
He added: “It’s 20-plus years since we’ve done something like this, and it’s special. It’s special to this group, to this organization, to the city.”
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Raleigh, batting left-handed, connected off Tanner Gordon in the first inning for a blast to right field that reached the top deck at T-Mobile Park. In the eighth inning, Raleigh, batting left-handed again, connected off Angel Chivilli.
Raleigh has 11 multi-homer games this season, tied with Aaron Judge (2022), Hank Greenberg (1938) and Sammy Sosa for the MLB record.
With four games remaining in the Mariners’ regular season, Raleigh has a chance to pass New York Yankees star Judge for the American League single-season home run record. Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022 to break the previous record set by Roger Maris, which had stood since 1961.
Raleigh’s latest homers came just four days after he passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season home run record with his 57th homer. Griffey hit 56 in 1997 and 1998.
Raleigh also has surpassed Mickey Mantle’s previous MLB record of 54 home runs by a switch-hitter that had stood since 1961. He set the MLB record for homers by a catcher this season, eclipsing the 48 hit by Salvador Perez in 2021.
Raleigh is four home runs ahead of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber and seven home runs ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.