There were plenty of memorable moments/accomplishments in the 2025 MLB season. In this post, Baseball Roundtable will look at eleven that stood out for me (Everyone does a top ten, why not a top eleven?) – some were one game, some were one series, some were all season and some covered multiple seasons. Keep in mind, that this list and its rankings are totally subjective. They are Baseball Roundtable’s takeaways from the 2025 season and I hope they encourage you to consider how you might rank the MLB events of 2025.
Number-One – Cal Raleigh’s Smashing Season … Sixty is Nifty
Mariners’ catcher Cal Raleigh was a proven source of power coming into the 2025 season, having hit 27 home runs in 2022, 30 in 2023 and 34 in 2024. In 2025, Raleigh raised the bar, going .247-60-125 – becoming just the seventh player to reach the 60-home run mark in a season (joining Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Roger Maris, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Aaron Judge). In the process, Raleigh literally smashed a lot of records:
- Most home runs in a season by a player suiting up primarily at catcher (topping Salvador Perez’ 48 in 2021);
- Most home runs in a season while in games as catcher with 49 (topping Javy Lopez’ 42 in 2003);
- Most home runs in a season by a switch hitter, (topping Mickey Mantle’s 54 in 1961);
- Most home runs in a season by a Seattle Mariner, topping Ken Griffey, Jr.’s 56 in 1997 & 1998).
And, of course, Raleigh led the Mariners into the post-season.
A Family Affair
In 2025, Cal Raleigh became the first catcher to win the MLB All Star Game Home Run Derby – and he made it a family affair. His father Todd Raleigh, Sr. pitched to Cal, while his 15-year-old brother, Todd Raleigh, Jr., served as his catcher.
And, Raleigh does not just swing a powerful bat. He was a Gold Glove winner in 2024.
Number Two – Four-ging a Legacy … Nick Kurtz’ Big Day and MLB’s Three-for-Four Season
2025 marked the first time in MLB history that we saw three MLB-record, four-homer games in one season – Eugenio Suarez, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Kurtz. The one that will stand out in my memory belonged to Kurtz.
The Athletics’ 22-year-old rookie 1B (at DH, batting second) earned unicorn status as the first MLB rookie to bash four dingers in a single game, as well as the youngest major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
Kurtz’ offensive explosion came in a July 25 15-3 Athletics’ win in Houston. In addition to the four dingers, Kurtz had a double and a single for 19 total bases – tying the Dodgers’ Shawn Green (May 23, 2002) for the most total bases ever in a single MLB game. Notably, Kurtz came into the ninth inning with three long balls – and scheduled to bat sixth. Luckily, the A’s extended the inning (fly ball out, single, double, groundout, single) to bring Kurtz to the plate in the top of the final inning with two on and two out – and he delivered his fourth home run of the game, as well as his sixth, seventh and eighth RBI.
His day went like this:
- First Inning – Single (off Ryan Gusto) with one out and no one on;
- Second Inning – Two-out, two-run home run (Gusto);
- Fourth Inning – One-out, RBI-double (Gusto);
- Sixth Inning – One-out, solo homer (off Nick Hernandez);
- Eighth Inning – One-out, solo home run (off Kaleb Ort);
- Ninth Inning – Two-out, three-run homer run (off Cooper Hummel).
They Call Him The Streak
From July 10 through July 25, Nick Kurtz enjoyed a 12-game hitting streak, during which he hit .553 (25-for-47), with nine home runs, one triple, ten doubles, 20 RBI and 18 runs scored.
The 6’5”, 240-lb Kurtz finished the season at .290-36-86 in 117 games, with his 36 long balls being the eighth-most ever by an MLB rookie. Keep in mind, that Kurtz put up these numbers after just 33 minor-league games (.344-12-20). He was a 2024 first -round (fourth overall) draft choice out of Wake Forest University, where he hit .333-61-182 over three seasons (164 games).
Number Three – Tyler O’Neill … Opening Day Hero
On March 27, new Orioles’ RF Tyler O’Neill went deep for a record (breaking his own mark) sixth consecutive Opening Day. To add to his unicorn status, over the past three seasons, O’Neill has homered on Opening Day for three different teams: Cardinals in 2023; Red Sox in 2024; and Orioles in 2025. (Side note: O’Neill has been in the starting lineup for exactly six Opening Days. He also had one pinch hit appearance on an Opening Day before the start of his HR streak.) His overall, Opening Day stat line: nine-for-nineteen (.473), six home runs and 14 RBI. Oh yeah, the Orioles won their 2025 Opener 12-2 over the Blue Jays – getting two homers apiece from C Adley Rutschman and CF Cedric Mullins, as well as solo shots by 2B Jordan Westburg and O’Neill.
O’Neill finished the 2025 season at .199-9-26. It was his eighth MLB season (2018-25 … Cardinals, Red Sox, Orioles), during which he has gone .242-118-304. His best season was 2021, when he went .286-34-80, with 15 steals for the Cardinals.
Number Four – Trea Turner’s Batting Title … and the Disappearing .300 hitter
In 2025, Trea Turner won the National League batting title with a.304 average, the lowest average ever to capture an NL title and the second lowest to earn an MLB title (Carl Yastrzemski won the AL title in 1968 – The Year of the Pitcher – with a .301 average. Turner was also the only qualifying National Leaguer to hit at least .300 – just as Yaz was the only qualifying American Leaguer to hit .300 in 1968. (There have been only four batting crowns award to qualifying hitters with an average under .310: Turner; Yastrzemski; George “Snuffy” Stirnweiss, 1945 Yankees at .309; and Elmer Flick, 1905 Naps, at .308.) The Roundtable did a full post on this particularly highlight – and the Case of the Disappearing .300+ Hitter – which you can access by clicking here.
Number-Five – 3,000 for Clayton … A Stay-At-Home Champion
Photo: Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On July 2, the Dodgers topped the White Sox 5-4 in LA – a much-expected win. The 53,536 fans in attendance, however, were anticipating more than a Dodger victory. Dodger Clayton Kershaw – a three-time Cy Young Award winner in his 18th MLB season – came into the game with 2,997 career strikeouts and the crowd was amped to see number 3,000.
It came as Kershaw recorded the final out in the sixth inning and the victim was White Sox’ 3B Vinny Capra (the final batter Kershaw faced in the game). Kershaw, by the way, gave up nine hits and four runs over his six frames and got a no-decision.
A few things caught my eye: Kershaw became just the 20th MLB pitcher to reach the 3,000+ strikeout mark; the fifth MLB pitcher to record 3,000 strikeouts for one team during his career; and (given his announced retirement) just the third pitcher to record 3,000 or more strikeouts for one team and have those be the only strikeouts of his MLB career.
Coming off shoulder surgery, Kershaw made his first 2025 appearance on May 17 and picked up his first 2025 win on June 8. He finished the season 11-2, 3.36, with 84 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings (23 appearances/22 starts). For his 18-season Dodger career (2008-25), he is 223-96, 2.53 with 3,052 strikeouts in 2,855 1/3 innings. He was an eleven-time All Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MOst Valuable Player.
Number Six – Good Timing, Lord Byron (Buxton) … One of the Season’s Two Cycles
Photo: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On July 12, fans lined up early at Target Field for a chance at that game’s give-away – a Byron Buxton Bobblehead. Their timing – and Buxton’s – was spot on. In the contest, a 12-4 Twins’ win over the Pirates, Buxton delivered a five-for-five performance – and one of two cycles (single, double, triple, home run in the same game) of the 2025 season. The Cubs’ Carson Kelly hit for the cycle in a March 31 18-3 win over the Athletics.
Buxton’s day went like this:
- First Inning – Leadoff infield single off Mike Burrows;
- Second Inning -Triple (with one out and no one on) to deep center off Burrows;
- Third Inning- Ground-rule RBI double (with two on and no outs) off Genesis Cabrera;
- Fifth Inning – Single (one out, none on) off Yohan Ramirez;
- Seventh Inning – Home run (two outs, none on) to center on an 0-2 pitch from Andrew Heaney.
Buxton’s line: Five-for-five, three runs, two RBI and a cycle plus an extra single.
For those who like to know such things: It was the first cycle ever at Target field (opened in 2010).
Postscript or #WithBaseballRoundtableOneTningAlwaysSeemsToLeadToAnother
The most cycles ever in an MLB season is nine – accomplished in 1933 and 2009; Here are the names. 1933: Pepper Martin, Cardinals; Chuck Klein, Phillies; Arky Vaughn, Pirates; Mickey Cochrane, Athletics; Pinky Higgins, Athletics; Jimmie Foxx, Athletics; Earl Averill, Indians; Bob Herman, Cubs. 2009; Orlando Hudson, Dodgers; Ian Kinsler, Rangers; Jason Kubel, Twins; Michael Cuddyer, Twins; Melky Cabrera, Yankees; Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies; Felix Pie, Orioles; B.J. Upton, Rays.
The most cycles by a player in an MLB season is two: John Reilly, 1883 Cincinnati Red Stockings (American Association); Tip O’Neill, 1887 St, Louis Browns (American Association); Babe Herman, 1931 Dodgers); Aaron Hill, 2012 Diamondbacks; Christian Yelich, 2018, Brewers.
Disclaimer: While the Negro Leagues from 1920-48 have been declared major leagues, game-by-game statistics have not been fully incorporated into MLB records.
Number-Seven – Out-Madduxing the Professor … One of a Lucky Thirteen
Photo: Jeffrey Hyde from Bryan, TX, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
There were a lucky thirteen single-pitcher shutouts in 2025, but a different lucky 13 stood out among that Bakers’ Dozen. On May 25, Tigers’ lefty Tarik Skubal threw something rarer than a CG shutout – a “Maddux” – a nine-inning shutout using less than 100 pitches (named such in honor of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux). In running his season record to 5-2, 2.49, Skubal shutout the Guardians in a 5-0 Tigers’ win. Skubal fanned 13 batters in his 94-pitch outing (the most strikeouts ever in a “Maddux”). Maddux himself never fanned more than nine batters in a “Maddux.” The Tigers’ ace gave up just two hits (no walks) and threw 72 strikes among his 94 pitches. Skubal finished the season 13-6, with an AL-best (among qualifiers) 2.21 earned run average and 241 strikeouts in 195 1/3 innings. His “Maddux” was his only 2025 complete game.
This past season, by the way, saw three Madduxes: Skubal’s and outings by the Rangers’ Nathan Eovaldi (who used 99 pitches to top the Reds 1-0 on April 1) and the Cardinals’ Sonny Gray (who used 89 pitches in a 5-0, one-hit, 11-strikeout) win over the Guardians on June 27.
Maddux, by the way, holds the record for throwing the most Madduxes at, of course, 13.
Unicorn of Efficiency
Of the 395 documented Madduxes (one-pitcher shutouts of at least nine innings and less than 100 pitches), the Cubs’ Jon Lieber was the most efficient, using just 78 pitches (56 strikes) to top the Reds 3-0 on May 24, 2001. He gave up one hit and one walk, while fanning two, in the game. In that game, he used 13 pitches on the final two hitters (walk/double play). Both went to 3-2 counts (The only time he reached three balls on a batter in a game).
Side Note: Since MLB officially began tracking pitch counts as a stat, there have been 329 “Madduxes.” Stathead.com also lists 66 “Madduxes” before 1988.
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Your Hit Parade Extra – Mason Miller’s Immaculate Inning
Now, if you get the reference in the title of this “extra,” you can join me as official “geezers.” It is drawn from the radio and then TV Show “Your Hit Parade,” which featured a cast of non-star singers performing the top ten hits from the charts – with an occasional Hit Parade Extra song tossed in. Why a ticket to “geezerdom?” The last episode of the show aired in 1959. Anyway, here’s your extra.
In 2025, the Marlins’ Cal Quantrill; Orioles’ Brandon Young; Cubs’ Andrew Kittredge; and Padres’ Mason Miller all tossed Immaculate Innings (three batters up, three batters struck out, nine total pitches). Miller’s Immaculate Frame (eighth inning, September 3, versus the Orioles) stuck out as a highlight for me for a handful of reasons:
- Miller struck out the side on nine consecutive sliders;
- The slider is not Miller’s most-used pitch. That would be his four-seam fastball which averaged 101.2 MPH in 2025 – highest average speed in in MLB;
- None of his nine pitches in the inning were “touched” – no foul tips or foul balls;
- After a called strike on his first pitch of the inning, he followed with eight swings and misses.
How devastating was his slider? If you look at the video, it appears that as many as eight of his sliders (including the called strike) were outside of the strike zone.
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Number Eight – Quinn Priester… Hard to Beat This Trade
On April 7, the Milwaukee Brewers traded OF prospect Yophery Rodriguez, a Competitive Balance 2025 Draft pick and a Player to Be Named Later (RHP John Holobetz) to the Red Sox for RHP Quinn Priester (a prospect with a 6-9, 6.23 MLB record in 21 games/14 starts and a 26-17, 3.61 minor-league record, with 428 strikeouts over 408 2/3 minor-league innings). It worked out pretty well. Priester went 13-3, 3.32 in 29 games (24 starts) for the Brew Crew. What caught my eye was his last appearance of 2025. On September 26, in a 13-3 Brewers’ loss to the Reds, Priester gave up nine hits and three runs over five innings (and took the loss). It caught my eye, because it broke a pretty nice streak for Priester. From May 30 until that September 26 game, Priester appeared in 19 games for the Brewers (16 starts) and Milwaukee won all 19. Priester went 12-0, 2.84 over that span. Perhaps he should be on a box of Lucky Charms ©. Priester went 13-3, 3.32 in 29 appearances/24 starts on the season.
Number Nine – The Blue Jays/Rockies … Was There No Goalie?
On August 4, the Blue Jays opened a three-game series against the Rockies (in Colorado) with a 15-1 victory. In the game, they punched out 25 hits and three home runs. Ah, but that was just the beginning of a record-setting offensive onslaught. The Blue Jays swept the series by scores of 15-1, 10-4 and 20-1. In the process, they banged out 63 hits – a Modern Era record for base hits in a three-game set. The record was previously held by the Red Sox, who recorded 62 hits against the Browns (in Fenway) in a three-game series June 7-9, 1950. In that one, the Red Sox won Games One and Two by scores of 29-4 and 20-4, but lost the final game 12-7.
In the Blue Jays/Rox series, the Blue Jays hit .457 (63-for-38), with 13 home runs.
Number Ten … Is 30-30 The New 20-20?
Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
I’ll remember 2025 for the fact that a record seven players reached the 30-30 mark (30 home runs and 30 stolen bases). Never before had there been more than four 30-30 players in one season. Since 2020, there have been 15 20-20 seasons in MLB, which means nearly half of those came in 2025. To date, there have been 79 MLB 30-30 seasons, accomplished by 51 players.
The highlight, for The Roundtable, among those 30-30’s? On September 20, as the Guardians whitewashed the Twins 6-0 in Minnesota (first game of a day/night doubleheader), Guardians’ star Jose Ramirez smacked a solo home run in the first inning off Twins’ starter Joe Ryan. It was his 30th home run of the season and – with his 40 stolen bases (in 47 attempts) – made Ramirez:
- the first player in the Cleveland franchise with three 30-30 seasons;
- the second switch-hitter in MLB history with three 30-30 seasons; and
- the second third baseman in MLB history with three 30-30 seasons.
Ramirez was .270-39-105 with 34 steals in 2018; .335-39-118, with 41 steals in 2024; .283-30-85, with 44 steals in 2025. He is a seven-time All Star with a career (2013-25) .279-285-949, 287-steal stat line.
For those who like to know such things, the first switch-hitter and first third baseman with three 30-30 seasons was Howard Johnson (Mets … 1987, 1989, 1991).
Number Eleven – Shea Langeliers … A First Time for Everything
On August 5, Athletics’ C Shea Langeliers found himself batting in the leadoff position for this first time in his MLB career – and he delivered – notching his second career three-homer game.
As the A’s blasted past the Nationals 16-7, Langeliers went five-for-six with four runs, three RBI, three homers, a double and a single. In the process, he became just the second catcher with a three-homer game while batting leadoff (Travis d’Arnaud in 2019) – and yes, this is another example of #InBaseballWeCountEverything, Langeliers also tied the Modern Era record for the most total bases in a game by a catcher (15), joining Walker Cooper (1949) and Wes Westrom (195O). Langeliers finished the season at .277-31-72 on 123 games.
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