PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 Cal Raleigh has already gone deep this spring, yet the switch-hitting Seattle Mariners catcher isn’t focused on trying to hit 60 home runs again this season.<\/p>\n
Raleigh, who had an MLB-leading 60 homers last year, hit a 427-foot homer<\/a> against the Chicago White Sox in an exhibition game Tuesday. His first spring homer came in his third game.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the elephant in the room is 60 home runs. That\u2019s not something I\u2019m setting out to do,\u201d Raleigh told Seattle Sports this week. \u201cTo me, I\u2019m just trying to be as consistent as possible, trying to do what I did last year.\u201d<\/p>\n His 60 homers last season were the most for a player who was primarily a catcher, having started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated hitter. The 29-year-old Raleigh, nicknamed \u201cBig Dumper,\u201d<\/a> also had a career-high 125 RBIs and finished second in the American League MVP<\/a> voting behind New York Yankees slugger and third-time winner Aaron Judge.<\/p>\n Judge<\/a> and Raleigh are both set to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, which begins pool play next week. Judge set the AL record with 62 home runs<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n They are among only seven players with a 60-homer season, and Mark McGwire<\/a> and Sammy Sosa are the only ones to do so in consecutive seasons (1998 and 1999). McGwire and Sosa are the only players with multiple 60-homer seasons, and Sosa had a third in 2001.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n