The elite fraternity of players to hit 60 or more home runs in a single season added a new member Wednesday night with a two-homer game for Seattle Mariners<\/a> catcher Cal Raleigh<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Raleigh hit the historic blast in the bottom of the eighth off Colorado Rockies<\/a> reliever Angel Chivilli<\/a><\/strong> to help lead the Mariners to a 9\u20132 win. The victory clinched the AL West for the Mariners, their first division title since 2001, when current manager Dan Wilson<\/a><\/strong> was the primary catcher. Additionally, with the sudden cold spell of the formerly AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers<\/a>, the Mariners currently have the second seed in the American League, meaning the Mariners would receive a bye in the Wild Card round if current standings hold.<\/p>\n The first member of the 60 Home Run Club was Hall of Famer Babe Ruth<\/a><\/strong>, who smacked 60 for the New York Yankees<\/a> in 1927. This was also the single-season record for the majors until 1961. That season, Roger Maris<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 also of the Yankees \u2014 belted 61 to not only become the second player to hit 60+ in a season, but he also set a record that stood for 27 years.<\/p>\n The offensive explosion of the 1990s, combined with 1998 being an expansion year, brought predictions that the Maris record was in jeopardy. These predictions were correct, but no one could have predicted the famous home run chase that summer between Mark McGwire<\/a><\/strong> of the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> and Sammy Sosa<\/a><\/strong> of the Chicago Cubs<\/a>. McGwire reached 60 first, doing so on September 5, with Sosa joining him exactly one week later. McGwire finished with 70, establishing a new single-season record, as Sosa ultimately clubbed 66.<\/p>\n Three seasons later, Barry Bonds<\/a><\/strong> of the San Francisco Giants<\/a> became the fifth member of the 60 Home Run Club on September 6 in a season where he established the current major league record of 73 in a season. No one else hit 60 until 2022, when Aaron Judge<\/a><\/strong> became the third Yankee member on September 20. Judge ended up with 62 to break the American League record.<\/p>\n The only players to hit 60 more than once are McGwire, who did it twice (98, 99) and Sosa, who did it thrice (98, 99, 01).<\/p>\n With four games remaining, Raleigh sits two shy of tying and three shy of passing the American League home run record. The Mariners have one more game against the Rockies on Thursday and three against the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> Friday through Sunday.<\/p>\nThe 60 Home Run Club \u2014 Cal Raleigh plus Six Others<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
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