Where Will Cal Raleigh's 2025 Rank Among the Greatest Catcher Seasons of All Time?
Cal Raleigh is putting together one of the greatest power-hitting seasons in MLB history, as he homered 33 times before the calendar flipped to July:
For any player to have 33 homers before the All-Star break is remarkable. For it to come from a player who plays their home games at T-Mobile Park is even crazier. And factor in that Raleigh is a catcher, and it's truly been one of the greatest first halves we've ever seen.
To that end, we've decided to take a look at the nine greatest seasons a catcher has ever had, and then compare them to the pace Raleigh is on.
No. 9: Johnny Bench, 1974
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Key Stats: .280 batting average, 33 HRs, 129 RBI, 80 BB, .870 OPS, 8.0 WAR
For this to be the third-best season of Johnny Bench's career gives you an idea of why he's pretty universally seen as the greatest catcher of all time.
In addition to winning his seventh consecutive Gold Glove Award, he led baseball in RBI (129) and total bases (315).
And again, this wasn't Bench's best season. In fact, it wasn't even his second best.
No. 8: Gary Carter, 1982
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Key Stats: .293 batting average, 29 HRs, 97 RBI, 78 BB, .890 OPS, 8.4 WAR
In terms of WAR, FanGraphs says Hall of Famer Gary Carter's highest single-season total came in 1982, when he posted an 8.4 WAR as a member of the Montreal Expos.
He was an All-Star in 1982 for the fifth time in his career, also taking home a Gold Glove Award and winning a Silver Slugger.
Amazingly, Carter finished in the top six in NL MVP voting on four occasions, but this wasn't one of them. He finished just 12th in NL MVP voting in 1982, probably more of an indictment on voting at the time than anything.
No. 7: Iván Rodríguez, 1999
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Key Stats: .332 batting average, 35 HRs, 113 RBI, 24 BB, .914 OPS, 6.8 WAR
Iván Rodríguez set career highs in batting average (.332), home runs (35), RBI (113) and WAR (6.8) in 1999. "Pudge" did that while using his rocket arm to win his eighth Gold Glove Award in a row.
He edged out Pedro Martinez, Roberto Alomar, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Palmeiro and Derek Jeter to win the AL MVP in 1999.
Rodríguez's MVP season was the crowning campaign in a Hall of Fame career.
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No. 6: Johnny Bench, 1970
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Key Stats: .293 batting average, 45 HRs, 148 RBI, 54 BB, .932 OPS, 7.9 WAR
Two years after winning NL Rookie of the Year, Johnny Bench took home the senior circuit's MVP for the first of three times.
He led baseball in home runs (45), RBI (148) and sacrifice flies (11) in 1970. Those were the best marks he posted in terms of home runs and RBI in his Hall of Fame career.
And yet, there's a case to be made that it wasn't even the finest season of Bench's career.
No. 5: Roy Campanella, 1953
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Key Stats: .312 batting average, 41 HRs, 142 RBI, 67 BB, 1.006 OPS, 7.7 WAR
Roy Campanella won the NL MVP three times between 1951-1955, with the second of those award-winning campaigns in 1953 being one of the greatest seasons a catcher has ever produced.
He led the NL with 142 RBI in 1953, a career high. In fact, during his 10 MLB seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Campanella's best marks in terms of home runs (41), OPS (1.006) and WAR (7.7) all came in 1953.
No. 4: Joe Mauer, 2009
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Key Stats: .365 batting average, 28 HRs, 96 RBI, 76 BB, 1.031 OPS, three defensive runs saved, 8.3 WAR
Joe Mauer won three batting titles during his Hall of Fame career, but he also added in elite run production in 2009.
En route to winning the AL MVP, he led baseball in batting average (.365) and on-base percentage (.444) in 2009. He had to settle for the junior circuit leads in terms of slugging percentage (.587), OPS (1.031) and OPS+ (171).
Mauer, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024, also won a Gold Glove Award during what was one of the greatest seasons a catcher has ever had.
No. 3: Mike Piazza, 1997
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Key Stats: .362 batting average, 40 HRs, 124 RBI, 69 BB, 1.070 OPS, 9.1 WAR
Mike Piazza has a New York Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque, but the best season of his illustrious career came as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1997.
He wasn't the same type of defender behind the plate that some of the other names on this list were, but he's the greatest hitting catcher in the history of the sport, and this was his finest season. As you can see above, the offensive numbers were staggering in 1997.
Amazingly, Piazza's .362 batting average in 1997 was only the third-best mark in baseball, trailing Tony Gwynn (.372) and Larry Walker (.366).
In one of the finest seasons a catcher has ever produced, Piazza was the runner-up to Walker for NL MVP.
No. 2: Johnny Bench, 1972
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Key Stats: .270 batting average, 40 HRs, 125 RBI, 100 BB, .920 OPS, 9.2 WAR
We've teased it. Bench's greatest season is the second best that a catcher has ever produced.
In addition to leading baseball in home runs (40), RBI (125), sacrifice flies (12), intentional walks (33) and WAR among position players (9.2), he set a single-season career high with 100 walks in 1972. By comparison, he posted a .379 on-base percentage when he won the 1972 NL MVP, as opposed to .345 in 1970 and .363 in 1974.
If all that wasn't enough, Bench also took home one of his 10 Gold Glove Awards in 1972.
No. 1: Buster Posey, 2012
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Key Stats: .336 batting average, 24 HRs, 103 RBI, 69 BB, .957 OPS, 16 defensive runs saved, 9.8 WAR
Buster Posey only played 12 MLB seasons, but he was such a great player at the height of his powers that he's going to have a compelling Hall of Fame case when he comes up on the ballot.
His career-best season came in 2012, when he combined elite offensive production (led MLB with .336 batting average and 171 OPS+) with world-class defense (16 defensive runs saved). He edged out Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutchen to win NL MVP, and then eventually helped the San Francisco Giants to win their second World Series in three years.
Bench, Piazza and Rodriguez all have better overall resumes, but Posey has arguably the greatest individual season a catcher has had to this point.
So Where Will Cal Raleigh Wind Up?
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According to Baseball Reference, if you project Raleigh out to a 161-game sample (he's already had one full off day, so this is a full-season sample), he would hit .276 with 64 home runs, 138 RBI and a 1.036 OPS.
That would be the greatest season a catcher has ever had, and one of the best a player at any position has had. The reality, though, is that he isn't going to play 161 games.
Even if the 28-year-old gets more starts at DH in the second half of the season, the nature of the catching position is going to require him to get some additional off days after the All-Star break that he wouldn't have to take if he played elsewhere on the field.
Still, Raleigh is at 33 home runs and a 5.4 WAR before the All-Star break. If he gets to 50 home runs and a WAR north of 8.0, he'll definitely be in the top five.
It would help the former Platinum Glove Award winner if his defensive metrics rebound—he has minus-4 defensive runs saved after having 17 a season ago—but ultimately how high up his home run total goes will be the biggest factor in where Big Dumper lands on this list at the end of the 2025 campaign.
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