The 2025 Home Run Derby turned out to be one of the most entertaining nights baseball has seen in years, and Cal Raleigh stole the show. The Mariners catcher powered his way through the bracket, but it was how he got there, and how close he came to being eliminated, that made the night unforgettable.
In the opening round, Raleigh tied Oakland slugger Brent Rooker with 17 home runs. That meant the tiebreaker came down to a rarely used rule: who hit the longest homer. Incredibly, Raleigh advanced by a margin of less than an inch. His longest homer traveled 470.62 feet, barely edging Rooker’s 470.54-footer. That’s a difference of just 0.08 feet, or 0.96 inches. The crowd didn’t even realize how close it was until the official numbers were revealed. One swing. One inch. That’s how thin the line was between moving on and going home.
But Raleigh didn’t waste his second chance. In the semifinals, he found a rhythm and blasted 19 home runs to knock out Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz. Then in the finals, he went head-to-head with Tampa Bay’s rising star Junior Caminero and came through again, hitting 18 homers to seal the win and take home the trophy.
What made the moment even better was the family connection. Raleigh’s dad threw every pitch to him, and his younger brother caught behind the plate. It wasn’t just a showcase of power, it was a family memory they’ll never forget. You could see how much it meant to all of them after his final swing.
Raleigh finished the night with 54 total home runs, more than anyone else in the field. He became the first catcher and first switch-hitter to ever win the Home Run Derby, adding to what’s already been a breakout season. He leads all of Major League Baseball with 38 home runs at the All-Star break, and he’s quickly becoming one of the faces of the sport.
It’s not often a player becomes a national name in one night, but that’s exactly what happened. The power has always been there, but this performance — the poise under pressure, the storybook family moment, and yes, the victory by less than an inch , made it clear that Cal Raleigh isn’t just having a hot stretch. He’s becoming a star.
The Derby was thrilling start to finish, but it’ll be remembered most for the smallest of details. In a sport defined by inches, Cal Raleigh proved every single one counts.