One former pro pitcher has Cal Raleigh over Aaron Judge as American League MVP

Definitely in the conversation, but a long way to go!
Jul 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jul 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

When FSU baseball fans think about former great catchers in the garnet and gold there are probably a few names that come up before Cal Raleigh.

However, his 2025 season is something to behold as he surpassed Ken Griffey Jr. as the Seattle Mariner's player with the most home runs before the All-Star Break (36) on Tuesday night.

Raleigh will be an All-Star and will participate in the HR Derby for the first time. He's currently batting .266 with 36 home runs and 76 RBI. He's in the mix for the American League MVP with Aaron Judge and others.

However, if the season ended today, former pro pitcher Ben Verlander says he'd take Cal Raleigh as his MVP:

Judge is batting .361 with 34 home runs and 75 RBI. The Mariners and Yankees have similar win/loss records overall and are in second place in their respective divisions. Judge has the edge in overall stats, but the award is who's the Most Valuable Player. If we remove Raleigh from the Mariners, how many more losses do they have? If you remove Judge from the Yankees?

My guess is the Mariners would have more losses. Seattle only has four players other than Raleigh with double-digit home runs(none more than 14).

The Yankees have six players with 10+ home runs (five players with 13+ home runs).

There's still another half of the season to play, but it's great to see a player like Cal Raleigh put it together for a magical season. Judge has hit a ton of home runs in his career. Raleigh has never hit more than 34 home runs in a season before 2024.

The fact he has already surpassed his career total in a season BEFORE the All-Star break is crazy! We'll see if he can continue that magic after the All-Star break. If so, I'd have to side with Ben Verlander, although I might have some FSU homer in me!