"Griffey Jr. hit 56 homers during the 1997 season, and again in 1998, part of a resume that earned him a near-unanimous election into Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1996. Because of his historical stature and the general difficulty for hitters to generate home runs in the Mariners' home park, it was uncertain whether anyone would approach Griffey Jr.'s record."
"Batting in the top of the third inning, Raleigh fell behind in the count no balls and two strikes against Astros left-hander Framber Valdez. Rather than spin a pitch out of the zone, Valdez tried to sneak a fastball over the outside corner. Raleigh, batting right-handed, leaned across the plate and mashed a high drive to right-center field, the ball easily clearing the Astros' bullpen."
"Part of the Raleigh's dominance this season has been his ability to drive pitches on the outer third of the plate for home runs -- this was his 18th of the season, second-most in baseball. As always, Raleigh jogged steadily around the bases, betraying little emotion, and after hugging Eugenio Suarez and wading into joyful teammates in the dugout, he smiled slightly as he was handed the team's trident."
HOUSTON -- Cal Raleigh broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s single-season Mariners record with his 57th home run and now sits within range of 60 homers. Griffey hit 56 homers in 1997 and 1998 and remains a historical benchmark, particularly given the Mariners' home park's relative difficulty for hitters. Raleigh has also set single-season records for catchers and switch-hitters this year and could become the seventh player in MLB history to reach 60 homers. In the third inning against Framber Valdez, Raleigh hit a high drive to right-center that cleared the bullpen. Raleigh has hit 18 homers on pitches on the outer third of the plate and celebrated calmly with teammates.
Read at ESPN.com
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