"Little League stadium” - Fans debate whether Aaron Judge would surpass Cal Raleigh’s HR total in Seattle

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge was named the American League MVP unanimously last season. However, the All-Star outfielder is facing a tough challenge for the prize from Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.

The Mariners catcher is on a historic run this season, boasting a tally of MLB-leading 50 home runs. Cal Raleigh has already broken Kansas City Royals All-Star Salvador Perez's record for most home runs (48) by a catcher in a season.

While Judge has 43 home runs for the season, a X post claimed the Yankees captain would have 44 homers if he played at the Mariners' T-Mobile Park. The post also claimed that Raleigh's number would drop from 50 to 41 if the Mariners catcher played at Yankee Stadium.

"Fun fact: Aaron Judge would have 43 HRs if he played every game in TMobile Park (same as currently) Cal Raleigh would have only 41 HRs if he played every game in Yankee Stadium (He has 50 currently) “Little League stadium”

The post started a debate among baseball fans.

"Yankee stadium is a little league park, don’t get it twisted," wrote a fan.

That’s actually a crazy fact. I figured he got at least one opposite field cheapie in NY."

"No. Butterfly Effect. Changing one factor changes many others. Can't assume he'd hit the same way in another park."

"Don’t spit facts for the naysayers!!!"

"Oh please.. Judge has a ton of Yankee Stadium Specials barely clearing the right field fence. Yea “wiffle ball park.”

Aaron Judge had a season-low six home runs in August, although he finished the month with home runs on consecutive games against the Chicago White Sox.

Aaron Judge not "pulling" for Cal Raleigh with Mariners catcher threatening AL home run record

While Cal Raleigh has already set the record for most home runs by a catcher this season, the Mariners power-hitter is threatening to get close to break Aaron Judge's AL-record 62 home runs.

The Yankees captain said he "loved" watching Raleigh but is not pulling for him to break his home run record as the Mariners are in race for a AL Wild Card spot along with the Bronx Bombers.

"Cal Raleigh is a great guy and a great ambassador for the game,’’ Judge said. “I love watching him do his thing. We’re in a fight for the wild card and the division. I’m not pulling for anyone to do anything that’s not the Yankees.”

The Yankees hold a 3.0 game lead over the Mariners in the wild-card race, with the Boston Red Sox in the thick of action, just 1.0 games behind New York.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash