Best catching season ever? Inside Cal Raleigh's historic rise

Ask Cal Raleigh how he got to this point, on pace for the greatest season from a catcher in MLB history, and there isn’t one all-encompassing answer.

The 28-year-old is pulling the ball in the air more than any player in baseball, but he says that’s not something he’s trying to do. 

There are subtle differences with his setup compared to previous years: He’s standing slightly closer to the plate and has narrowed and closed off his stance more than he had in the past. Likewise, though, those minor adjustments were not done purposefully. 

"But you can’t argue the numbers," Raleigh said when informed of the data. "If they’re there, they’re there. It might be something I just wasn’t thinking of and happened." 

Whatever role those tweaks might be playing in his 2025 performance, the results are staggering for MLB’s home run leader. 

Raleigh is on pace to shatter the single-season home run record for a catcher, to post the best offensive season ever from any National League or American League catcher (both by wRC+ and OPS+) and to register the most valuable all-around season from a catcher ever. Raleigh is currently tracking toward an 11-fWAR season; no catcher before him has ever had a 10-fWAR season.

This did not exactly come out of nowhere — Raleigh, after all, led all catchers in home runs each of the last three seasons — but the upswing this year is monumental.

Raleigh went from hitting 12% above league average over the first four years of his career to nearly 100% above league average this season while logging career-best marks in hard-hit, barrel and walk rates to go along with the lowest strikeout and chase rates of his career. 

So, as "Big Dumper" becomes "Big Thumper," how does Raleigh explain this MVP-caliber