Cal Raleigh named American League Player of the Week, Andrés Muñoz continues to be cat owner of the year
Two lovely stories on likely All-Stars to start the week.
Major League Baseball announced Monday that Cal Raleigh has been named the American League position player of the week. The honor comes as little surprise, following the big dumpers massive series in Chicago, as well as a strong slugging showing all week long.
The accolades have flowed in for Raleigh as he authors what is on pace to be the greatest individual season of any catcher in MLB history. Offensively, Raleigh now boasts an astonishing 191 wRC+ and 5.1 fWAR, alongside a .276/.383/.659 line with 31 home runs in his first 75 games of 2025. If he merely matches his projected pace by FanGraphs and most evaluation systems the rest of the way, he’ll set the record for most homers by a backstop in a single season, and likely surpass any single season WAR or offensive totals boasted by Johnny Bench, Buster Posey, Mike Piazza, or the other many astounding catching talents over the years.
Cal has obviously led the charge, but it’s been the entire Seattle Mariners offense that’s thrived of late, dragging the club’s overall totals into impressive territory. That’s meant precious little of late for closer Andrés Muñoz. However, Muñoz maintains his campaign for cat owner of the year. From the M’s joint press release:
“Seattle Mariners pitcher Andrés Muñoz is stepping up once again for animals in need by extending his partnership with Seattle Area Feline Rescue (SAFe) through the remainder of the 2025 season. As part of this ongoing collaboration, Muñoz will donate $200 for every save he records this season—including the 18 saves he has already—to support the shelter’s most medically vulnerable cats.”
Two bits of good news nicely nestled together.