SEATTLE -- Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman arguably had the best seat in the house Wednesday night at T-Mobile Park.
He watched two historic left-handed swings from Cal Raleigh, launching homers 59 and 60.
The first was a Statcast-projected 438 feet into the upper deck of right field in the first inning, later followed by a two-run shot in the eighth that punctuated a Mariners win to clinch the AL West and possibly stamp Raleigh with the coveted MVP title.
Raleigh’s season has been a display of unprecedented feats as a switch-hitting catcher. He broke the single-season home run records for catchers and switch-hitters, surpassed Ken Griffey Jr.’s iconic 56-homer mark from 1997 and ’98 with Seattle, and joined the likes of Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Aaron Judge and Roger Maris to reach 60.
“I’m sure [Seattle] is in awe when they watch it every day, especially from the catcher position -- which is a grind,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said.
With the scenarios in place and the Rockies extending the NL record in losses with 116, it’s easy to overlook what their own catcher has executed at the plate. In a forgettable year for Colorado, Goodman might just be the silver lining after a full season behind the dish.
"You're seeing a 30 home run, 100 RBI guy," Schaeffer said of Goodman. "I see years of that to come."
The breakout season for Goodman, 25, suggests they may have established their future behind the dish -- similar to what Seattle experienced with the emergence of Raleigh, 28, only a few years ago.
A fourth-round selection out of the University of Memphis in the 2021 Draft as a catcher, Goodman showed prowess at the plate, so the Rockies -- hoping to keep the focus on his bat -- utilized him at first base and in the outfield in 2023 and '24.
But it was unsuccessful, so he made a permanent move back to catcher to begin the season, quickly overtaking veteran Jacob Stallings for the starting job, as Stallings was released in June.
"The consistency of playing one position all the time has been a lot less stressful," Goodman said. "Getting to play every day has helped a lot with rhythm and timing."
And while Goodman's records may not be to Raleigh's level -- yet -- he is proving that he has plenty of power at the plate, too.
In his first full season with the Rockies, he set a club record for most homers by a catcher (30), and the first Rockie to reach that mark since 2019. He leads all NL catchers in homers, extra-base hits (62) and RBIs (90).
Seven of those homers were in the ninth inning, trailing Raleigh (eight) for the most in baseball.
"He's always a better hitter -- much better hitter -- when he's caught," Schaeffer said. "He's an even better hitter when he catches than when he DHs.
"That's coming around, but anytime you can free up a guy's mind like that, it's good."
Goodman has played in 141 games so far, 102 behind the dish and 39 at DH. In 156 games played for Raleigh, 119 were at catcher compared to 34 at DH.
Very similar splits for the two 2025 All-Stars -- the first selection for each. They met for the first time at Truist Park in July.
"It's been awesome to watch as a fellow catcher seeing what he can do," Goodman said.
Goodman went 3-for-13 with two RBIs in the series against Seattle, including a double in Thursday’s 6-2 loss to extend his extra-base hit mark for NL catchers.
The Rockies now know what their catcher can produce offensively.
“He has done it well, his body has held up,” Schaffer said. “So, now it’s about pushing him. How much can you push him next year to play? It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he hit 40 to 45 [homers].”