Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and manager Dan Wilson have each been selected as finalists for two of MLB’s most prestigious awards.

This is a big week for the Seattle Mariners and Jorge Polanco’s future

Raleigh was named as one of three finalists for the American League MVP and Wilson as one of three finalists for AL Manager of the Year during an MLB Network broadcast on Monday.

Raleigh was nominated alongside New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez.

The 28-year-old catcher is coming off a record-setting year in which helped the Mariners win their first AL West title and reach their first AL Championship Series in 24 years. He mashed 60 home runs, becoming just the seventh player in MLB history to reach the historic mark. In the process, he broke Mickey Mantle’s home run record for switch-hitters (54) and Salvador Perez’s for catchers (48). He also became the first player to hit 20 home runs from each side of the plate in a single season.

Raleigh slashed .247/.359/.589 with a .948 OPS, 161 wRC+ and an AL-leading 125 RBIs over 159 games this season. His 9.1 fWAR was the second most of any AL player, trailing only Judge’s 10.1.

The last Mariner to win AL MVP was Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

While Ramírez is included in the race, it’s widely known to be a two-man showdown between Raleigh and Judge.

New York’s slugging outfielder led MLB in all three triple-slash categories at .331/.457/.688 with a 1.114 OPS, 53 home runs and 114 RBIs. No other AL player had an OPS of 1.000. His 204 wRC+ was also 38 points higher than the next AL batter.

Judge has a clear advantage over Raleigh in just about every offensive category outside of home runs and RBI, but Raleigh’s case carries the argument of playing a premium defensive position and having an unmeasurable impact as an everyday catcher. Raleigh, who logged 1,072 innings behind the plate in 2025, played nearly 250 more innings in the field than Judge (822 1/3 innings).

Wilson, who took over in late August 2024, went 21-13 in the team’s remaining 34 games last season. This year, the Mariners finished the regular season with a record of 90-72, with Wilson becoming the first manager in club history to take the team to the postseason or win a division title in his first full season.

Wilson is joined by former Mariners bullpen coach and reigning AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider as finalists for manager of the year.

Wilson is vying to join two-time winner and fellow Mariners Hall of Famer Lou Piniella (1995 and 2001) as the only managers in club history to win the award.

The MVP and manager of the year awards are voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The winners will be announced Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. on MLB Network.

Seattle Sports Mariners insider Shannon Drayer contributed to this story. 

More Seattle Mariners coverage

• Seattle Mariners catcher Mitch Garver becomes free agent
• Julio Rodríguez falls short of first Gold Glove
• Why a pitcher trade may finally be a part of Seattle Mariners’ offseason
• M’s fans should be ready for an uncomfortable Josh Naylor free agency
• Cal Raleigh named top MLB player by peers

Follow @ZacHereth

LANDOVER, Md. — At halftime of the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium, Sam Darnold had four touchdown passes and zero incompletions, having connected on all 16 of his attempts.

He didn’t know it until someone told him — a no-no in football akin to talking about a no-hitter in baseball.

“Obviously, I can feel the flow of the game and understand that we’re doing really good on offense, but no I didn’t know that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said after the 38-14 victory. “It was pretty cool. Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn’t thrown an incompletion, so I think he’s to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”

By the time Darnold missed for the first time, the Seahawks were well on their way to a win that improved their record to 6-2 — and boosted their quarterback’s MVP odds in the process.

“Not going to say who it was,” Darnold said with a smile, refusing to give up the culprit.

Darnold finished 21-of-24 for 330 yards, four touchdowns and one interception before he was pulled in favor of Drew Lock with just over seven minutes left. That was good enough for a Total QBR of 97.8, the best in any game of his eight-year NFL career.

According to ESPN Research, there have been four instances of a player recording a QBR of 97 or higher in a game this season, and Darnold has three of them. The others are his performances against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5 (97.4) and the New Orleans Saints in Week 3 (97.3). Darnold’s three such games are tied with Tom Brady (2007), Tony Romo (2014) and Lamar Jackson (2019) for the most by a starting quarterback in a season since ESPN began tracking Total QBR in 2006.

“Sam’s execution right now, he’s just ridiculous,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “All the things we’ve talked about that he’s been doing, but decisive, making smart decisions, our receivers are doing a great job, I thought the protection was really good.”

The Seahawks were short-handed at receiver, with Cooper Kupp, Jake Bobo and Dareke Young all inactive. It didn’t look like it, though, with Darnold throwing touchdown passes on each of Seattle’s first four possessions. He connected twice with rookie Tory Horton — who assumed Kupp’s role of WR2 — before hitting rookie tight end Elijah Arroyo and veteran receiver Cody White.

Darnold’s 87.5% completion rate was the second-highest in a game in Seahawks history (minimum of 10 attempts), behind only Russel Wilson’s 88.6% in a 2020. By completing his first 17 passes, he tied the franchise record that Warren Moon set in 1998, which was also to begin the game.

“Believe me when I say it, I’m not surprised,” Macdonald said of Darnold’s completion streak. “We watch Sam every day and how he operates, and he’s the same guy every day, which is what you love about him. We’re chasing it. The guys are determined and it’s fun to watch, When the team comes together, that’s the type of stuff you can do when you play the right way, you prepare the right way. Our coaches deserve a lot of credit. I thought [offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak] called a great game.”

Jaxon Smith-Njigba extended his NFL lead in receiving with 129 yards on eight catches, marking the sixth time in eight games he’s topped triple digits.

Smith-Njigba was asked about the etiquette observed with a quarterback who’s off to a perfect start.

“We stay away from him a little bit and just let him do his thing,” he said. “I think somebody might’ve broke the news to him, but yeah, honestly, I didn’t know. We were just in such a flow and just out there dealing, so it was great to see that.”

According to ESPN Research, Darnold began the day with 60-1 odds to win MVP, per ESPN Bet. Those odds had improved to 18-1 by the end of the game.

With their win, the Seahawks improved to 4-0 on the road this season and 11-1 since the start of last season.

The Seahawks lost middle linebacker Ernest Jones IV to a knee injury and cornerback Josh Jobe to a concussion in the second quarter. Macdonald said of Jones’ injury, “It’s not season-ending, but we’ll see how it goes.”