Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was the 2025 winner of the MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night at Atlanta Truist Park, in one of the most hotly contested and historic derivations of the event. His 18 home runs in the final round edged out Junior Caminero who was 22 years old to give Raleigh the honor of being the first catcher to ever win the Derby.
The night was full of big-time home runs, upsets and narrow leads, the most narrow of which was the survival of Raleigh himself as he came through in the first round on a technicality. However, Raleigh is rightfully very proud of his stability in power and the ability to step up in pressure at the end, which was invariant of the event this year.
As sentimental as Cal Raleigh had the route of his victory, it was also very statistically improbable as his father threw the pitches and his brother caught behind the plate. Raleigh began by just making it to the second round. Both he and Brent Rooker ended with 17 homers but his longest hit 470.62 feet, just beat that of Brent Rooker by 0.08 feet, who had a 470.54 feet homer thus giving him the tiebreak advantage. From there, the Mariners slugger took full control.
Power Display in the Semifinals
Raleigh changed his game in a semifinal contest with the Pittsburgh Oneil Cruz, when he started exclusively left-handed batting instead; the strategy proved fruitful. He drove four balls out of the park with his first five at bats and remained in excess until the completion of the round with 19 home runs over the field. His average homers in his semifinal encounter were 430 feet followed by 465 and the hardest one was hit at 109 mph.
Although he did not qualify for the finals, his performance had a 498-foot bomb and in the first round, a 513-foot home run that tied a record, which also was the longest home run outside Coors Field in Derby history.
Final Showdown: Raleigh vs. Caminero
And the championship game featured an old-school experience versus young talent battle: 22-year-old Caminero, the flashy Rays third baseman, had to do battle against the home run leader in the league. Caminero had been impressive with 15 homers in the regular aspects but Raleigh caught up with an important final minute to even the score. He followed that up to score three in playoff time to give him 18 and the title.
By the end of this night, Raleigh hit 54 home runs (in three rounds already), which reached an approximate distance of approximately 429 feet. He had the longest home run in the final round of 464 feet to demonstrate outstanding consistency and endurance.
Caminero, despite the loss, gained widespread praise. He had 44 home runs over the event with the average exit velocity of almost 107 mph. His latest longest homer in the last round was 469 feet further establishing that he is one of the most promising young hitters in MLB with most chances of becoming a power hitter.
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Other Highlights from the Night
- Byron Buxton started strong with 20 homers in Round 1 but stumbled in the semifinals, finishing with only 7.
- Matt Olson, the Atlanta hometown favorite, couldn’t overcome a slow start and was eliminated with 15 home runs.
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. recorded just 3 homers, marking one of the lowest totals in Derby history under the current format.
- James Wood, making his debut, delivered a 486-foot blast — one of the longest of the night — but was eliminated in the opening round with 16 homers.
The win is not only a milestone to Raleigh but to the catchers in the major league of baseball. Historically underrepresented in the list of successful Home Run Derby participants, the position enjoys the first championship, and Raleigh is currently leading the 2025 season in home-runs, with 38 already in the bag prior to the All-Star break.
To make the win even more touching was the family setting – a son pitching to his father, and a brother catching, which people rarely see in an MLB game, especially a game of such scale. It was not only a success to Raleigh and his family, but also an event that was registered in the history of baseball.
