Mariners' Cal Raleigh faces historic hitless streak after 40-homer season

What's wrong with Cal Raleigh? Mariners slugger's hitless streak only part of the problem

Raleigh's 0 for 34 is the longest hitless streak in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) by a player following a 40-homer season

By Mike Axisa

May 12, 2026 at 10:42 am ET • 4 min read

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For the third time in their last five games, the Seattle Mariners were winners Monday, defeating the Houston Astros ( SEA 3, HOU 1 ) in their series opener at Daikin Park. And for his ninth straight game, reigning American League MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh did not have a hit Monday, extending his hitless streak to 0 for 34. It is the longest hitless streak in baseball this season.

"I'm trying to get there," Raleigh said over the weekend (via the Seattle Times ). "Honestly, it's not been great. It's been really ugly. I'm trying to do my best to just compete up there."

Raleigh has struck out 16 times during the streak, and the 0 for 34 is the longest in the Live Ball Era (since 1920) by a player following a 40-homer season, topping Jason Giambi's 0 for 32 with the 2004 New York Yankees . Raleigh is about three games away from the Mariners' franchise record hitless streak ( Jarred Kelenic's 0 for 42 in 2021). Hard to believe, really.

Cal Raleigh SEA • C • #29

BA 0.157 R 13 HR 7 RBI 18 SB 2 View Profile

Raleigh's batting line sits at .157/.238/.320 through 42 team games, or more than one-quarter of the season. His .559 OPS ranks 168th among 177 qualified hitters. An oblique issue kept Raleigh out of the lineup for three straight games earlier this month, though that minor injury alone doesn't explain his poor season. He was having a down year long before his side began to bark.

The under-the-hood numbers show red flags aplenty. Raleigh is chasing outside the zone too much. When he swings at pitches in the zone, he's not making enough contact. The contact he does make has generally been weak. It's not just that Raleigh is down from last year's 60-homer level. He's down from his pre-2025 level as well.

2024 2025 2026 MLB average

Strikeout rate

28.0%

26.7%

31.4%

22.1%

Walk rate

11.1%

13.8%

9.9%

9.5%

Swinging strike rate

14.6%

14.8%

15.2%

10.8%

Chase rate

32.8%

31.8%

37.4%

29.9%

In-zone contact rate

80.1%

81.2%

76.2%

85.7%

Average exit velo

91.0 mph

91.3 mph

87.0 mph

89.1 mph

Hard-hit rate

48.1%

49.6%

28.7%

39.7%

Raleigh's hard-hit rate, which is the percentage of batted balls with a 95-plus mph exit velocity, ranks 161st among 177 qualified hitters, behind soft-contact merchants like Caleb Durbin (30.6%) and TJ Friedl (29.8%). Only five of those 177 qualified hitters are making less contact in the strike zone. Lots of in-zone whiffs and lots of weak contact is a bad, bad combination.

"For me, it's more on the mental side than it is trying to physically change something," Raleigh said (via the  Seattle Times ). "I'm just trying to battle and compete, and not worry about the rest of the stuff and try to get back to being more process-oriented."

There is a mental component to any slump. It's human nature. A slump as long as 0 for 34 would weigh on anyone, especially a player who's set as high a standard as Raleigh. It does look like there's a physical component to this as well, at least in terms of timing. Raleigh is starting his leg kick ever so slightly later this season. Here are two left-handed swings:

It's subtle, but it's there. The GIFs are synced at the pitcher's release and Raleigh's front foot is coming up a hair later this year. That is enough to disrupt his timing and cost him contact ability and hard-hit ability. The May 2025 swing was an inside sweeper pulled for a home run. The May 2026 swing was a sweeper down that was lazily popped up to left. That's what being a tick late can do.

Raleigh's timing issue shows up most against velocity. Last year, against 95 mph or better fastballs, he hit .248 with a .584 slugging percentage and a 32.0% whiff rate (that is, misses per swing). This year, those numbers are a .069 average and .172 slugging percentage, and a 39.7% whiff rate. Hitting starts from the ground up. When you're late with your lower half, your bat will be late too.

As good as he is and as talented as he is -- Raleigh hit 30 homers in 2023 and 34 in 2024, remember -- he was never going to repeat last year's 60-homer season. That's the kind of season that just doesn't happen twice. A drop into, say, 35-homer territory would have been understandable and still an excellent season. But this ? This version of Raleigh is a disaster all the way around.

The good news is you needn't look back far to see the last time Raleigh showed signs of life at the plate. Immediately prior to this 0 for 34 skid was a seven-game rampage in which Raleigh went 10 for 29 with a double and five home runs. Just last month, he was hitting dingers and looking like his 2025 self. It's not like Raleigh's offense has been MIA all season, you know?

The Mariners are a disappointing 20-22 so far this season, though that's not entirely on Raleigh. They're still in the AL West race. The Mariners were expected to be a World Series contender, though, and that won't happen without Raleigh leading the way. This slump is ugly, but it will end, likely sooner rather than later. It'll take both mechanical and mental adjustments.

"Sometimes you've just got to take a step back and realize that," Raleigh said (via the  Seattle Times ). "You really need to find something that you can trust and find something that has worked for you in the past. I'm trying to find that."

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/cal-raleigh-hitless-streak-mariners-home-run-record/)._