MLB Home Run Derby 2025: Cal Raleigh becomes first catcher to win event, survives first round by an inch

The Big Dumper is a Home Run Derby champion, with a little help from his family.

Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to win the event in its four decades of existence on Monday, edging Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero in the final, 18 to 15. Caminero would’ve been the youngest Derby champion ever at 22 years old.

Raleigh is the second Mariner to win the Derby, joining Ken Griffey Jr., who won the event three times. Raleigh is also the first switch-hitter to win the Derby outright, as Ruben Sierra, the only other switch-hitter to win, shared the title in 1998.

The 28-year-old Raleigh did it with his father, Todd, pitching to him and his 15-year-old brother, Todd Jr., catching, turning the Derby into a memorable family affair.

“It means the world,” Raleigh said on the ESPN broadcast. “I could have hit zero home runs, and I would have had just as much fun. I just can’t believe we won. It’s unbelievable.”

Raleigh put on a strong showing in the final, but there were moments when it looked like Caminero would catch him. However, Caminero slowed down toward the end of the timed portion and hit only one of the four homers he needed in the bonus round.

It has been a dream season and then some for Raleigh so far. He has an MLB-best 38 homers going into the All-Star break and is on pace to not just set a record among catchers or Mariners players. He’s on pace for 64 homers, which would break Aaron Judge’s American League record of 62, considered by many to be MLB’s clean home run record.

Winning the Home Run Derby adds to Raleigh’s legend, but his story is nowhere close to over.

Minnesota Twins star Byron Buxton and Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz were eliminated by Caminero and Raleigh, respectively, in the semifinals. Brent Rooker, James Wood, Matt Olson and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were eliminated in the first round.

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Had Caminero hit a few more homers in the final, we might’ve had a controversy on our hands. Early in the timed portion of his final round, Caminero hit a ball that looked headed toward the top of the fence, but then one of the kids tasked with catching the non-homers hauled it in.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the ball would have made it over, but the umpires opted to give Caminero the homer after reviewing the play during his timeout.

Oneil Cruz didn’t win, but he had the most memorable dinger of the night

Going into the Derby, the player with the fewest homers in the field had the second-best odds of winning. That was Cruz, who currently sits at 16 home runs on the season.

The reason Cruz was so anticipated is his Statcast bona fides. No player in MLB hits the ball as hard as the 6-foot-7 outfielder, and a batting practice environment seemed to be the perfect venue for him to air out that raw power.

Cruz didn’t disappoint. First, he hit the longest homer of the night at 488 feet. He then topped that when he crushed one 513 feet.

That tied Aaron Judge for the longest dinger in the past decade of the Home Run Derby, excluding the absurd numbers from the thin air of Coors Field.

Cruz wound up losing to Raleigh in the semifinal, but not before cranking another homer 498 feet and out of the stadium.

Cal Raleigh survived the first round by an inch

Before the final, Raleigh had to make it out of the first round. That was surprisingly difficult for the MLB home run leader.

Going second-to-last in the eight-player field, Raleigh tried to hit from both sides and finished with 17 homers — 10 from the left side and seven from the right. That put him in a tie with Rooker.

First-round ties are decided by longest home run, but the rub was that both Raleigh and Rooker topped out at 471 feet. It looked like the AL West rivals were headed to a swing-off, but then the exact measurements came in from whichever office was monitoring Statcast.

Raleigh’s homer: 470.61 feet. Rooker’s homer: 470.53 feet. With a difference of .08 feet, or around one inch, Raleigh survived the first round on his way to becoming Derby champion.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for updates, highlights and more from the 2025 Home Run Derby:

MLB Home Run Derby 2025: Cal Raleigh becomes first catcher to win event, survives first round by an inch

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