During the 2025 baseball season, we witnessed something never before seen in the sport’s long and storied history.

Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners hit 60 home runs—the most ever in a single season by a catcher and by a switch hitter. He accomplished this while maintaining his status as a premier defensive catcher and leading the Mariners to their first appearance in the American League Championship Series since 2001.

And yet, Raleigh still may not win the American League Most Valuable Player award.

Even after his record-breaking home run total, elite defense that earned him the 2024 AL Platinum Glove (given to the league’s top overall defender), and his victory at the Home Run Derby, Raleigh’s MVP campaign faces stiff competition. On the other side of the country, in the Bronx—as seems to be the case every year—Aaron Judge once again put together one of the most dominant offensive seasons in baseball history, and he finally delivered in the postseason for the New York Yankees.

Only one of the two can take home the MVP. If it isn’t Raleigh, it would mark a disappointing end to the greatest single season a catcher has ever had.

A Demanding Role, an Unprecedented Season

Catchers in today’s game spend most of their time working with pitchers on mechanics, honing their pitch framing and blocking with coaches, and handling in-game duties like calling pitches, rushing gear changes between innings, and warming up pitchers in the bullpen. They routinely absorb foul tips and backswings while managing the game’s tempo from behind the plate.

As a result, catchers don’t typically have the luxury of spending hours in the batting cage. Offensively, a good season for a catcher usually means 15 home runs, a 3.5 WAR and a .750 OPS, paired with strong defense.

Raleigh shattered every standard.

He finished 2025 with 60 home runs, a 7.0 WAR, a .948 OPS and 125 RBIs—each of those marks ranked in the top five in the majors. He hit 29 more home runs than the next closest catcher, and four more than any other player at any position.

His 60 home runs obliterated the previous single-season record for a catcher, set by Salvador Perez in 2021 with 48. And as a switch hitter, Raleigh surpassed Mickey Mantle’s long-standing record of 54 home runs in a season by a switch hitter—a mark that had stood since 1961.

Consider that for a moment: while most players never even reach the majors, Raleigh is so gifted he can launch 420-foot home runs from both sides of the plate.

Defensive Excellence, Heavy Workload

Raleigh is not just an offensive juggernaut—he’s one of the game’s best defensive catchers. He won the AL Platinum Glove in 2024 and followed that up by catching 1,072 innings in 2025—third-most among all catchers—without allowing a passed ball until the AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers.

He consistently managed a complex Mariners pitching staff, calmed pitchers under pressure, and made key pitch selections that generated weak contact.

Even though postseason performance is not considered in MVP voting (ballots are cast before the playoffs), Raleigh’s October numbers underscore his value. Through Oct. 12, he was batting .400 (10-for-25) in the playoffs. The rest of the Mariners were 35-for-181, a collective .181 average.

A Historic Group

Should Raleigh win the MVP, he would join a legendary group of catchers including Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella and Joe Mauer. He would be the first catcher to win MVP since Buster Posey claimed the NL award in 2012, and the first Mariner since Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

Judge’s Case—and Why Raleigh’s Is Stronger

This isn’t an argument against Judge’s greatness. His season was spectacular—arguably the most complete of his career. He hit 53 home runs, drove in 114 runs, and led the majors in all three slash line categories at .331/.457/.688. His 9.7 WAR led all players.

Even defensively, Judge shined. He posted four outs above average—in the 87th percentile—and displayed one of the strongest outfield arms in the game.

But context matters.

Judge missed a stretch of the season with a right elbow flexor strain, which moved him into a designated hitter role for several games and limited his throwing ability even after his return to the outfield. And while he was excellent defensively, he plays right field in Yankee Stadium—a ballpark where the right-field foul pole is just 314 feet from home plate, one of the shortest distances in baseball. It’s not the same as tracking balls in a stadium like Wrigley Field, where right field extends to 353 feet.

Raleigh, meanwhile, shouldered the heaviest defensive workload in the sport—and still had the best power season of anyone in baseball.

Catchers don’t get the same time to refine their swing mechanics. They’re beat up by foul balls. They spend their days managing pitchers, studying scouting reports, and doing grunt work. And yet Raleigh led the majors in home runs—while breaking two historic records—and still had the stamina and durability to be elite defensively across 1,000-plus innings.

The Rightful MVP

This year’s American League MVP debate will be a historic one. Both Judge and Raleigh had seasons worthy of the award. But in terms of value—of what was asked and what was delivered—no one did more than Cal Raleigh.

The 2025 season from the Mariners’ switch-hitting catcher wasn’t just remarkable. It was unprecedented.

And it should be rewarded accordingly.