Cal Raleigh’s Historic Season Keeps Mariners in Postseason Hunt

Seattle Mariners’ catcher Cal Raleigh is enjoying an historic start to the 2025 season. It’s not too early to consider Raleigh for the AL MVP.
Cal Raleigh’s Historic Season Keeps Mariners in Postseason Hunt
Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners celebrates hitting a home run during the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on June 21, 2025. Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images
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The debate is ongoing. Seattle Mariners’ Cal Raleigh or New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge. Who will be the 2025 American League Most Valuable Player Award winner?

As close as the two-way race for MVP honors appears at this time, there is a whole second half of the season to play. Slumps will happen. Hitting streaks will pop up. Injuries could seemingly come out of nowhere to sideline either Raleigh or Judge. Plus, next month is MLB’s trading deadline. Roster moves by general managers for clubs in postseason contention will affect lineups written by managers. So many variables come into play with a club, which in turn trickles down to individual performances that make any credible long-term prediction difficult.

Donald Laible
Donald Laible
Author
Don has covered pro baseball for several decades, beginning in the minor leagues as a radio broadcaster in the NY Mets organization. His Ice Chips & Diamond Dust blog ran from 2012-2020 at uticaod.com. His baseball passion surrounds anything concerning the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and writing features on the players and staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Don currently resides in southwest Florida.