Major League Baseball has had plenty of feel-good stories so far this year and Saturday night was no exception.
Houston Astros’ long-time bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte had a piece of Seattle Mariners’ history on his hands after he caught Cal Raleigh’s record-breaking home run ball.
The Mariners catcher hit his 57th of the season off a 95.5mph sinker by Astros starter Framber Valdez, striking it into the bullpen in right-centre field to pass Ken Griffey Jr.’s franchise record of 56 HRs achieved in 1997 and 1998.
Bracamonte scrambled to grab the ball as it bounced off the wall and refused requests from Seattle fans to give it to them because he wanted to hand the memento to Raleigh personally.
Bracamonte gesture ‘means a lot’
After the game, Bracamonte waited to meet Raleigh, who was still wearing his catcher’s gear, near the Seattle dugout.
He placed the 57th-homer ball in Raleigh’s glove, with the Mariners star left moved by the gesture.
Bracamonte told reporters: “He said, ‘Thank you so much, I appreciate it. That means a lot to me’.”
Raleigh admitted he was lost for words in explaining what it meant to break the longstanding Mariners mark, saying: “It’s crazy. Just very, very odd and grateful and just kind of a weird thing in a way.”
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Raleigh hits yet another homer
Raleigh resumed his power trip on Sunday when he hit another home run in the second inning and helped the Mariners beat the Astros 7-3.
The switch-hitting Raleigh, batting left-handed, smacked a round-tripper off Houston pitcher Jason Alexander into right field to hand Seattle a 7-0 advantage.
North Carolina native Raleigh is now five home runs ahead of Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, who are tied for second place in the majors with 53 each.
The 28-year-old has six games to reach the revered 60 HR mark when the Mariners travel to Colorado and Los Angeles to face the Rockies and the Dodgers in three-game sets to conclude the 2025 MLB regular season.
Raleigh has already surpassed Mickey Mantle’s MLB record of 54 home runs by a switch-hitter that had stood since 1961.
He also set the MLB record for homers by a catcher this season, eclipsing the 48 hit by Salvador Perez in 2021.
More importantly, though, the Mariners swept the series against the Astros to take a three-game lead in the AL West over the same team with six games remaining.
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