Are we on the cusp of crowning a new home run king in Major League Baseball?
Out of nowhere, Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is swinging with the big dogs. He leads the sport in home runs (42), smashing more dingers than both Shohei Ohtani (38) and Aaron Judge (37) as of Aug. 5.
Where will Raleigh land in his quest for his first home run title?
Let’s check out the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Aug. 5.
Most regular season total home runs
Cal Raleigh: -150 (bet $10 to win $16.67 total)
Kyle Schwarber: +280 (bet $10 to win $38 total)
Shohei Ohtani: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Aaron Judge: +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Eugenio Suarez: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Cal Raleigh regular season total home runs
Over 62.5: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Under 62.5: -1400 (bet $10 to win $10.71 total)
First, the all-time single-season record of 73.
Raleigh is nowhere near favored to approach that mark, set by Barry Bonds in 2001. In order to break that record, the Seattle slugger would need to hit 32 homers in the next 49 games.
Not impossible, but highly unlikely.
As for the American League record, Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022, breaking Roger Maris’ previous record of 61, which he accomplished back in 1961.
Raleigh would have to go deep 21 times in the next 49 games to pass Judge.
The 28-year-old Seattle catcher has been a revelation in the Pacific Northwest this season. He was named an All-Star for the first time, and is third in Major League Baseball with 88 RBIs.
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In terms of his home run numbers, he hit two in 2021 (rookie year), 27 in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 34 last season, a number he had already surpassed prior to the All-Star Game.
Raleigh hit nine home runs in the month of July, 11 in June and 12 in May. He is currently third in slugging (.597), fourth in OPS (.957) and third in WAR (5.4).
Beyond leading the home run race, Raleigh is also the clear No. 2 in the AL MVP odds at +150. He made headlines last week by breaking the record for homers by a switch-hitting catcher.
As for the odds to lead MLB in homers, Raleigh remains the favorite, with Kyle Schwarber not too far behind.
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