Lollipop exploded again! There's a walking Ohtani, a running jersey, and a flying lali. MLB home run solo return to lead
Jun 18, 2025
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Neither Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees nor Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers are the most powerful home run hitters in the Major League Baseball this year. It is Cal Raleigh (29), the Seattle Mariners' main catcher. Raleigh hit a home run again in eight games, regaining the lead in the MLB home run race alone.
Raleigh started as the third catcher in the home game against the Boston Red Sox of the 2025 MLB at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington on the 18th (Korea time) and hit three hits in four at-bats, including one grand slam. Thanks to the grand slam, the RBI swept as many as six. Seattle, led by Raleigh's powerful home run, won the game 8-0.
Raleigh, who hit in his first at-bat on the day, hit a grand slam in his second at-bat with two outs in the bottom of the second inning with a 1-0 lead. Boston starter Walker Buehler hit a changeup on the first pitch and crossed the right fence.
The hard-to-homer hit went over. The batting speed was 106 miles (about 170.5 kilometers), which was a regular hit, but it was caught by the upper swing and the angle of shooting the ball was 43 degrees. A pitch of this angle is high, but it is difficult to stretch far. Even if the power is properly loaded, it often falls near the outfield fence.
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Lally hit his 27th home run of the season. Raleigh, who had been unable to hit a home run for seven games after hitting two home runs in an away game against the Los Angeles Angels on the 8th, was chased by Judge in the meantime.
Judge hit a solo home run in his last at-bat in the top of the ninth inning in an away game against Boston on the 14th, tying Raleigh for the lead with his 26th home run of the season. Judge hit six home runs in five games, including this one, catching up with Raleigh's gap. However, for the next four games, he fell into a sudden hitting slump of 1 hit in 15 at-bats, let alone a home run, and failed to lead the game alone.
In the meantime, Raleigh, who regained his batting sense, started the home run again. Raleigh, who hit a grand slam in the second inning, even hit a timely two-run double in the bottom of the fourth inning. Raleigh's six RBIs on the day are a career high since his MLB debut.
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But Raleigh was different. He is making his first season of re-signing into his career high season. Lally hit only two home runs in 47 games in 2021, his first year of debut. However, since the second year, he has turned into a home run hitter with an explosion of slugging power. Raleigh, who hit 27 home runs in 119 games in 2022, finally reached the 30th home run (145 games) mark in 2023. Last year, he hit 34 home runs in 153 games.
However, this year, he is hitting 27 home runs in just 71 games. Assuming that he plays 150 games at this pace, the calculation results show that he achieves 57 home runs. This is why Raleigh, not Ohtani or Judge, is emerging as the strongest candidate for home run this season.
Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
