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It will be interesting to see how he holds up. In each of the last three years, Raleigh hit better in the second half than he did in the first, this despite leading the league in innings caught last year and finishing second in 2023. It’s very hard to see him continuing that streak, but because he’s shown he can hold up over a full season, it may not be necessary to project a big falloff. Raleigh, already with 4.2 bWAR, has a very real chance to join a short list of eight-win catching seasons:
Best Ever? (highest bWAR* by catcher, min. 80 games caught)
Mike Piazza LAD 1997 8.7
Gary Carter MON 1982 8.6
Johnny Bench CIN 1972 8.6
Johnny Bench CIN 1974 7.9
Joe Mauer MIN 2009 7.8
*note that Baseball-Reference WAR does not include framing stats
So no, I don’t care that Raleigh has done all of this by a particular date on the calendar. That’s just the schedule. What’s real is that he’s combined two very specific and valuable elements of 21st-century baseball -- framing pitches and pulling fly balls -- into a league-dominating whole.
