Power Surge in the Bronx: Judge, Raleigh Clash Amid Historic Homerun Hunts
NEW YORK – A pivotal American League series kicks off at Yankee Stadium this week, featuring an extraordinary duel between baseball’s top two power hitters: Yankees captain Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. With both teams locked in the wild-card race and separated by just one game, their three-game set carries significant postseason weight.
Beyond playoff implications, the matchup spotlights an exhilarating race for home run supremacy. Raleigh leads MLB with 35 homeruns, narrowly ahead of Judge’s 33. Shohei Ohtani (30), Eugenio Suárez (28), and Kyle Schwarber (27) trail significantly. No other AL hitter has more than 22, isolating Raleigh and Judge as clear frontrunners to claim the league’s home run crown.
Raleigh’s season is rewriting history for any position. His 35 homers already place him among baseball’s elite power seasons. Only 19 catchers in MLB history have ever reached 35 homeruns in a full season; Raleigh achieved it before the All-Star break.
Key milestones entering the series:
- Raleigh’s 35 pre-break homers are 6 more than any other catcher and 5 more than any other switch-hitter in history at this stage.
- Both hitters are ahead of Judge’s 2022 pace when he set the AL record (62 HRs) through 90 team games:
| Player | HRs (Through 90 Games) | Projected Season Total |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Judge (2022) | 31 | 62 |
| Cal Raleigh (Current) | 35 | 63.0 |
| Aaron Judge (Current) | 33 | 59.4 |
Judge’s historic 2022 charge ignited just after his team’s 90th game, fueled by power surges. Logic suggests Raleigh’s chase faces hurdles. T-Mobile Park, Raleigh’s home, notoriously suppresses offense—his own 18 road homers outpace his 17 home homers despite fewer games played. Furthermore, catching nearly two-thirds of Seattle’s games incurs immense physical strain; his 599 innings behind the plate rank third in MLB.
Yet Raleigh challenges convention. He’s managed similar workloads before and is performing at a level unmatched by catchers. “Sometimes guys do amazing things,” the data suggests.
Judge, benefiting from hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, possesses proven late-season power surges, including stretches of 30+ homers in 72 games. His major obstacle? Finding pitches to hit. Judge leads MLB with 23 intentional walks—more than double Raleigh’s count—a trend accelerating recently with 9 in his last 20 games. Teams are increasingly wary of challenging him.
Both men defy norms: a catcher pacing for the single-season AL record and a reigning champion fighting not only opposing pitchers but deliberate avoidance. Their head-to-head clash in the Bronx adds another captivating layer to an already remarkable dual pursuit.
