Overview
- The honor recognizes a 60-homer season that set single-season marks for a catcher, a switch-hitter and a Mariner.
- He logged 1,072 innings at catcher with zero passed balls, played 159 games and served as DH 39 times, a workload peers cited as decisive.
- His production helped Seattle win the AL West for the first time since 2001, and he hit .304 with five postseason homers and a 1.081 OPS.
- The Sporting News award dates to 1936; Raleigh is the third Mariner to receive it and only the second catcher to do so, following Johnny Bench in 1970.
- BBWAA MVP voting remains separate and unresolved, leaving his writers-voted outcome still to come.