Cal Raleigh breaks Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr’s switch-hitter homer record with No. 56

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh broke Mickey Mantle’s and Ken Griffey Jr.’s record for homers by a switch-hitter when he hit his 56th of the season off Royals right-hander Michael Wacha with nobody out in the third inning of Tuesday night’s game in Kansas City.

Raleigh had tied the mark set by the Yankees star in 1961 with a first-inning drive against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

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He hit the 55th in the third inning, breaking Mantle’s record. His 56th was in the fourth inning, breaking Griffey Jr.’s.

Raleigh, who had doubled in his first at-bat of the series-opener against the Royals, was batting left-handed when fouled off Wacha’s changeup and took a sinker for a ball before sending a hanging curveball 419 feet over the right-field fence.

He got a standing ovation from a small group of Mariners fans behind the visiting dugout. Many Royals fans applauded, too.

Raleigh, who hit 34 homers last season, also moved within one of the Seattle record of 56, which Ken Griffey Jr. set in 1997 and matched the next year. Raleigh already broke Javy Lopez’s record of 43 homers hit by a player while playing catcher.