Cal Raleigh is hitting .156 — and MLB history shows how bad it is

Cal Raleigh is hitting .156 — and MLB history shows how bad it is originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Cal Raleigh’s 2026 season is turning historically ugly. The Seattle Mariners catcher is hitting .156 in 391 plate appearances, drawing comparisons to a batter from the 1885 season.

According to Codify, Raleigh’s batting average puts him in the same neighborhood as Joe Gerhardt’s 1885 season with the New York Giants. Gerhardt was hitting just .155 in 423 plate appearances. Among all qualified hitters with at least 391 plate appearances, Raleigh comes just second to Gerhardt.

Gerhardt’s 1885 season is a historical benchmark for worst-hitting seasons. Appearing in 112 games, the Giants slugger finished with 62 hits with just a .399 OPS. If Raleigh continues to struggle at the plate, it will not be long before he is at the top of an MLB record nobody wants.

Cal Raleigh is batting .156 this year with 391 plate appearances. The only batter in MLB history to have a lower batting average in a season with more plate appearances was Joe Gerhardt for the 1885 New York Giants. pic.twitter.com/dEHOAGfbPf

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 20, 2026

In Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers so far, Raleigh is 0-for-3 and has managed a walk.

Cal Raleigh’s insane batting falloff in two seasons

Cal Raleigh was one of baseball’s best hitters last season, finishing with 60 home runs and 125 RBI with a .247 average. Raleigh went from finishing second to Aaron Judge in AL MVP last season to getting compared to a hitter from the 19th century on worst levels.

Last week, the Mariners catcher took ownership of the team’s worsening offense following the loss against the New York Yankees.

“We’re not playing well. That starts with me,” Raleigh said via the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. “I’m awful. I’ve got to find a way to be better and to help bring the guys along. We just gotta play better. We’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game.”

Raleigh’s hitting falloff has not helped the Mariners. They are 59-67 pending Wednesday’s result and look outside the playoff race at the moment.