For months, the debate over the American League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award has kept baseball fans on edge.The main unknown revolved around whether the recognition would fall on Aaron Judge, right fielder for the New York Yankees, or on Cal Raleigh, catcher for the Seattle Mariners, after extraordinary offensive seasons.
Aaron Judge is Crowned with his Third MVP
Finally, on Thursday, voters chose Judge, who solidified his place among baseball greats by winning his third MVP award. With this achievement, he joins Yankees legends like Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle.The voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America was one of the closest in years. Judge received 17 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes. Raleigh, for his part, obtained 13 first-place votes and finished second on the other 17 ballots.Had the votes of just two writers been reversed, the result would have been a tie.
In the voting, José Ramírez, third baseman for the Cleveland Guardians, placed third, while Bobby Witt Jr., shortstop for the Kansas City Royals, finished fourth.They had two incredible seasons. It’s always fun to play against them, especially when we play against Seattle. The main goal is to make sure Cal doesn’t beat you.
Aaron Judge
Judge achieved his first batting title with a .331 average, surpassing the rest of the league by 20 points. He hit 53 home runs, becoming the fourth player with four seasons of at least 50 home runs and surpassing Berra and DiMaggio on the Yankees’ home run list.I know I say it often when I meet with our media during the season, but I never want to stop being touched by the consistency and enormity of his achievements. It’s increasingly difficult for me to find words to describe how good he is. He’s simply playing at a higher level, and he’s been doing it for quite some time.
Aaron Boone, Yankees manager
The 53 home runs were the most for a batting champion. He led the majors in OPS (1.144), wRC+ (204), and fWAR (10.1). He became the fifth player in the expansion era (since 1961) to lead the majors in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in the same season. He also set the American League record with 36 intentional walks.Judge could have left the Yankees a few years ago, but he re-signed as a free agent.You try not to think about it during the season. I try to keep my head down during the 162 games, do what I can in today’s game to help our team win. And you do what you can, give it your all, and then you wake up the next day and do it again.
Aaron Judge
In the postseason, Judge had the best of his career, batting .500/.581/.692 in 31 plate appearances. His three-run home run in Game 3 of the American League Division Series helped the Yankees temporarily avoid elimination.Judge’s resume still lacks a World Series title, as the Yankees’ drought extended to 16 years in 2025. For now, Judge is the greatest Yankee without a World Series championship.The debate between Raleigh and Judge was the most contested MVP discussion in over a decade, as both hitters had historic seasons.Raleigh, the switch-hitting catcher, became the seventh player to hit 60 home runs in a season. He broke Salvador Perez’s previous record of 48 home runs by a catcher and surpassed Mantle’s record of 54 home runs by a switch hitter.Raleigh hit .247/.359/.589 with 60 home runs, 125 RBIs (league leader), and 110 runs scored.It’s a lot of responsibility to play in New York, but that’s what I love. When I was a free agent, I came back to New York. I wanted to play in the city, play for these fans, play with these high expectations.
Aaron Judge
