Aaron Judge has repeated as the American League MVP. The Yankees star edged out Cal Raleigh and easily cleared third-place finisher José Ramírez to claim his third MVP in four seasons. He’s the thirteenth player in league history to win the award on three occasions.
It was about as tightly contested a race as possible. Judge and Raleigh were 1-2 in some order on all 30 ballots. Judge received 17 first-place votes against Raleigh’s 13. Had two of the Judge voters gone the other way, there would have been co-MVP winners for the first time since Keith Hernandez and Willie Stargell split the NL award in 1979.
That’s a testament to the remarkable seasons turned in by both players. Judge was yet again the best offensive player in baseball. He hit .311/.457/.688 to lead the majors in all three slash stats. Judge paced the AL with 124 walks and 137 runs scored. He finished second behind Raleigh with 53 homers and 114 runs batted in. While Raleigh had the edge in the power counting statistics, Judge’s offensive rate metrics were far better. He walked more, struck out less, and had much better results on balls in play that didn’t clear the fences. Judge had a near .100 point advantage over Raleigh in OBP and more than .080 points above him in average. He won the AL batting title by .020 points over Bo Bichette and Jacob Wilson.
There’s no question that Judge was the more valuable hitter. The case for Raleigh rested on the difficulty of putting up that kind of production as a catcher. The Seattle backstop had one of the greatest seasons ever at the position. He not only became the first catcher in MLB history to reach 50 homers, he cruised to an MLB-high 60 bombs. Raleigh tied for the ninth-most home runs in a season at any position and is tied for third (behind ’22 Judge and 1961 Roger Maris) among hitters who were not connected to performance-enhancing drugs. Raleigh also led the American League with 125 RBI while hitting .247/.359/.589 across 705 plate appearances.
It left voters with a difficult choice: reward the superior hitter or the player who turned in an historic season at the sport’s most demanding position? FanGraphs credited Judge with 10.1 Wins Above Replacement, while Raleigh was at 9.1 WAR. They were easily the top two players in MLB by that metric. Baseball Reference had a slightly bigger gap in Judge’s favor (9.7 to 7.4). Both players were instrumental in getting their teams to the postseason — the Yankees as a Wild Card, Seattle as winners of the AL West.
In the end, voters went with Judge by the narrowest of margins. This was the only of the major awards that was especially close. Shohei Ohtani (NL MVP), Paul Skenes (NL Cy Young), and Nick Kurtz (AL Rookie of the Year) all won unanimously. Tarik Skubal (AL Cy Young) and Drake Baldwin (NL Rookie of the Year) each received more than two-thirds of the first place votes in those categories. The AL MVP was at least somewhat in doubt until the announcement.
Judge has three MVPs and has finished in the top five on five occasions. He’s already a lock for the Hall of Fame and can put himself in truly rarified air if he wins the award once more. Ohtani became only the second player in league history to win a fourth career MVP tonight. Barry Bonds is the record holder with seven such honors. Judge is headed into the fourth season of the nine-year, $360MM free agent deal that he signed to stay in the Bronx over the 2022-23 offseason.
Raleigh has received MVP votes in three straight seasons. He was already one of the sport’s best catchers coming into the season, but this year elevated him to an inner circle of superstars. The M’s signed him to a six-year, $105MM extension just before Opening Day. He’s under contract through 2030 and should remain the face of a wide open competitive window in Seattle. This was his first top three MVP finish.
While Ramírez never stood a chance of winning the award this year, this was his sixth career top five finish. Ramírez has finished in third-place three times and was the runner-up behind José Abreu in 2020. Cleveland’s star third baseman hit .283/.360/.503 and reached 30 homers for the fourth time. He’s putting together a Hall of Fame career and led the Guardians on a late-season run to a second straight AL Central title. Ramírez took a significant hometown discount on a $124MM extension early in the 2022 season. He’s signed for another three years.
It was obvious that every voter would have Judge and Raleigh in the top two. The ballot opened up with the third-place spot. Ramírez led the way with 19 third-place votes and was the only other player who was in the top five on every ballot. Last year’s runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. received nine third-place selections and finished fourth overall. Skubal earned his highest career placement with a fifth-place finish. He and Junior Caminero (who finished ninth overall) received one third-place vote apiece. Julio Rodríguez, George Springer, Garrett Crochet and Jeremy Peña rounded out the top 10. Kurtz was the only other player who received any fourth or fifth place votes. Twenty players appeared on at least one ballot.
Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images. Full voter breakdown available via BBWAA.
All Rise!!
Snubbed
Did you guys remember Justin Morneau won the 2008 Homerun Derby?
But it was still quite the derby for Josh Hamilton.
Cal got robbed
No he didn’t
He didn’t get robbed. He got beat by a better bat.
Put another way: He lost the election but might, in the final analysis, win the popular vote!!!
Cal hit more HRs than ANY other catcher or switch hitter in the history of baseball. Judge had a good season, but Cal had a historic season. All while playing the most demanding defensive position on the field. The voters got it wrong.
Raleigh got robbed, if he played in NY he woud have won in a blow out. Defense adds a lot of value, catcher toughest position by far.
“Raleigh got robbed, if he played in NY he woud have won in a blow out”
Which would’ve been a mistake
“Defense adds a lot of value, catcher toughest position by far.”
And Judge was still more valuable. That’s how insanely good his hitting was.
Judge had one of the greatest seasons a right-handed batter ever had, which is historic as well, yet it’s just a “good” season…I get it, ppl hate the yankees but comments like this are just ridiculous. Cal deserves a tremendous amount of credit doing what he did as as a cacher, but he didn’t get beat out by some guy having just a good season, either.
Judge had a good season???? lol
Judge numbers overall blew Cal away and I get Cal is a catcher but you don’t win an award because your the first to do something, you won because you deserve too.
@Chester: “Judge had a good season, but Cal had a historic season”
The disrespect Judge gets is insane. He had 9.7 WAR and a 215 OPS+. That’s historic. It’s his third season in the last four with a 200 or higher OPS+. He crushed Cal in bWAR and beat him handily in fWAR. Judge slugged a hundred points higher than Cal, for God’s sake.
I’ll take Cal’s season at catcher over Judge’s at RF/DH any day of the week. Judge got it because he’s a yankee.
I’d take Judge’s season this year over any season Cal will ever put up. He is just a better and more valuable player. Voters agree and so do the stats a d the one Stat that actually measures value…WAR.
WAR. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again….
Should have gone to the Catcher. People just don’t understand baseball. To hit 60 HR and to catch that much as well is practically like Shohei Ohtani. The catcher is that important.
Nah he got it because he’s better actually
I definitely didn’t see that coming!!!
I was hoping to see Cal win, I thought he might have pulled it off.
Yes Yes Yes. I was a little worried. Here comes the Judge!!!!
Cal should have won. I wish the writers knew how hard catching was. As opposed to playing right field at Yankee stadium.
Judge = DH
Sure, keep making stuff up. Judge had 199 DH at bats. Cal had 144 abs
The Dodgers are quite grateful that Judge plays the field.
Neither won the glove at their positions or a finalist. But again look at Kyle schwarber and ohanti as DH bats.
Gay
Why are you talking about me in the thread about Judge?
Meow – A cat that doesn’t like p …… eh, nevermind! ;O)
Next year it will be Roman winning MVP – you heard it here first!
Much like a cat’s tail, I actually swing both ways 😸 But certainly in one direction more than the other.
And I hope you’re right! The injuries this year make me a little nervous.
Cal gave it a great run. Still a historic season for him.
Cal should have won the AL MVP ahead of Judge but the BBWAA voted entirely on sentiment & nothing else
Under the circumstances, I would have voted for Cal as I value a terrific catcher far more than most and understand how hard it is to be an impact hitter while playing the position.
But it is impossible to say that Judge was not incredibly deserving as well – he is incredible as a hitter. Let’s just say that it was a Judgement Call.
I wouldn’t have had a problem either way. Judge is so good that you think 53 HRS a .330 BA and a 1100 OPS is just another season.
His numbers are incredibly good
Cal should’ve won!!
No he shouldn’t have
Yes he should & the only reason he didn’t is because the BBWAA voted purely on sentiment.
Apparently catchers aren’t valued as much as they were in the 1950s when Yogi Berra and Roy Campanella each won three MVP awards without leading a hitting category.
Yes apparently thought has evolved
Campy probably won in 1955 due to a voting error.
If you want to bring that up remember those guys didn’t have the equipment and were getting steamrolled. No Buster Posey protection rules.
Yes apparently the lesser player should win despite adjusted WAR/advanced metrics because he has a cool nickname!!!
Yankees fans SALTY
Cal Raleigh set several MLB Records Aaron Judge didn’t plus Cal Raleigh plays a harder position than Judge. Cal Raleigh should have won the AL MVP
Judge hit the most home runs for a player that won the batting title.
The correct winner. Cal had a great season, but he was not the MVP
Yes he was
I guess you missed the news
Cal Raleigh set at least 2 MLB Records while Aaron Judge didn’t plus Cal Raleigh plays the hardest position on the Field while Judge can rest a lot more. Cal Raleigh should have won the AL MVP
As he should have, but what Cal Raleigh did in 2025 will be remembered for years.
No one remembers second place finishes.
*Cal is doing things a catcher has never done before*
*Cal breaks Mickey Mantle records*
*Cal hits 60 homers in the worst hitters park*
*We will never see another season like this*
Judge wins mvp lol how laughable
Judge had a better season with better numbers to back it up. Not taking anything from Raleigh but his season just short of what Judge did.
While playing the most difficult position in baseball his season fell short of what Judge did? Seriously?
For what it’s worth, advanced stats like WAR, which factor in positional adjustments, also had Judge as clearly more valuable.
CC how about reading the article “While Raleigh had the edge in the power counting statistics, Judge’s offensive rate metrics were far better. He walked more, struck out less, and had much better results on balls in play that didn’t clear the fences. Judge had a near .100 point advantage over Raleigh in OBP and more than .080 points above him in average. He won the AL batting title by .020 points over Bo Bichette and Jacob Wilson.”
Vegas – so it should be the highest WAR award?
It should go to the player with the most value. I just demonstrated one metric showing Judge had more value, even after factoring in position.
I think that’s kind of the problem… The numbers may indicate that Judge was more valuable, but anyone that’s put on the pads behind the plate knows how grueling the catcher position is. It is by faaaaar the most demanding position on the field, regardless of what WAR shows. Raleigh did things no other catcher has ever done + he did them as a switch hitter, things that no other switch hitter has ever done…. all while leading his team to the AL West title.
He played right field in a sand box where they put Stanton with zero difference.
That’s why he had +5 FRV that calculates external factors like ballpark, but keep sounding dumb.
He hit 32 of his home runs away from his home park.
…and hit 28 at home. What’s the point?
Hitting 28 in Seattle is pretty damn impressive.
its not the most unique season award cry loser
#BigDumper
I hate the yankees
But judge is a good dude, the best power hitter of our generation, And the tru single season hr champ
Another mvp. Deserves it
Exactly. It would be strange for the hitter that led all of baseball in BA, OBP & SLG to not win the MVP.
That doesn’t take away anything from Raleigh’s historic season. FWIW, no batter has won a MVP hitting less than .257 (2021 Ohtani) so Cal would have made some history doing so with his .247 average had he won.
Cal should have won
MPV – Most Popular Veteran
East coast bias, again!!! SMH
I know, right? Ohtani will never win an MVP award with all of that east coast bias. A real shame
The East coast is the better coast. I hate both teams they play on but Judge was the right pick.
Lol sorry all the Cal truthers. We know you were just anti-Yankee
I’ll readily admit Judge is the better all-around hitter. My argument for Cal is because of how much harder C is than OF. He can’t focus full-time on offense. He has to work with every pitcher on the staff, help game plan, and monitor what pitches are and aren’t working so he can adjust his pitch calling accordingly.
Judge was a deserving winner, but Cal would’ve been, too. The closeness of the voting reflects that.
That’s a feature not a bug
If Cal wore pinstripes and Judge was a Mariner, Cal would have won.
Thank goodness they didn’t fall for the big dumper crap
The writers who vote should stay up and watch west coast games they might learn something. One thing for sure defense isn’t valued enough.
lol
I wanted Cal to win, but I’m not surprised that Judge won.
A little disappointed Cal didn’t win, but can’t deny the historic season for Judge, too. Regardless of which one took it, the other would have the right to feel a bit snubbed.
Lame.
Maybe the voters should vote after the season instead of before the season
Mariners were buried without Cal he was MVP. Judge had an MVP season as well but CAL meant more to Mariners than Judge to Yankees.
Did you watch any Yankee games? With out Judge the team is terrible on offense. There is a reason why he got IBB somuch
Bellinger and Stanton were terrible this year?
So close to the 15-15 split I was hoping for.
A DH in a cracker box stadium … big deal!!
A right handed hitter with a left center field fence that is 395. Yankee stadium is the 17th most Homer friendly ballpark according to baseball servant. Keep pretending you know what you are talking about.
I’ll admit I was rooting for Cal, based on difficulty of position played (most difficult position in all of professional sports in my opinion) while maintaining that level of production. But its still hard to argue with the Judge in his court.
Two great candidates, each had MVP seasons in the same year.
As a Mariners fan, I was rooting for Cal. But impossible to argue with a legend like Judge having another legendary year.
Blatant east coast, Evil Empire bias.
Yeah, it’s strange how we never see west coasters win any of these awards, right?
So which east coast team does Ohtani play for?
He’s worldwide at this point
@Joe
Please don’t confuse Yucki with facts. It doesn’t operate in reality.
Is that why Schwarber won over Ohtani, east coast bias? Oh, wait…….
Judge was better in terms of value/advanced stats, but Raleigh’s season was cooler.
Disagree
As expected.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CAPTAIN!! Minus those couple of weeks at the end he twinged his throwing CANNON.
You could be talking about either candidate here…
Judge may have won the MVP, but Cal did more to improve his HOF chances this year than any player in the major leagues.
Heck,
Bleacher Report might even put him on their “Top Ten Catchers” list for a change….
Take judge off the Yankees and they are below average non playoff team, for evidence just look at the yanks in the playoffs when judge stops showing up
“He hit .311/.457/.688 to lead the majors in all three slash stats.” Slight correction- he hit .331
Such BS, I wonder what numbers Judge would put up playing 140 games behind the plate?
Complete BS. Cal Raleigh was the MVP no doubt about it. Baseball writers should wear this one.
Meh, two great seasons, someone had to lose.
Should’ve been Raleigh.
yankee fans responding to every Cal got robbed comment “umm actually” like they aren’t bias. Like if the counting stat argument was reversed you wouldn’t be whining. Let’s just ignore position, value to team, and historic firsts.
I would have been ok either way. FYI, I’m a Yankee fan. Judge graduated from the same high school as my wife. Which makes me root for him even more! Congrats to both, but Judge had the better offensive season.
MARINATED!
Darn, Cal was super close. Another heartbreaker for Mariners fans 🙁
The choice was the one who won the batting title or the one who bat .247. Easy decision
Guys, guys. The real MVP is you.
OPS: Judge 1.145, Raleigh .948…. Yes, we know are other factors that go into selecting an MVP – but that’s almost 200 points difference. The simple truth is there’s not a more dominant hitter in the game than Aaron Judge. Cal is deserving, certainly, he just happened to have gone up against the wrong guy. Never thought I would say that somebody that hit 60 HR wasn’t the clear MVP. Close call, but Aaron Judge is the right guy.
Imagine if it was 200 points the other way: Judge hit .948 while Raleigh hit .748.
Suddenly the “but he’s a catcher” argument doesn’t sound so convincing. Just goes to show how head-and-shoulders above everyone Judge was.
Raleigh got robbed, full stop.
To do what he did offensively in 2025 while also being an excellent defensive full time catcher is some legit Ohtani-style unicorn s***.
lol no it’s really not
lol k
There have been dozens of good hitting, good fielding catchers, what makes it unicorn ?
Raleigh just put up 60 bombs as a full time catcher.
Prior to that, no catcher in all 120+ years of MLB history even had a 50 HR season, not even during the steroid era.
Like I said a few months ago that no one is going to be MVP batting 240 something.
Disappointing result to say the least. Dont care about the “ummm technically” Yanks fans. Ummm technically, when Judge set a historic record he won MVP. But ummmm apparently, when Cal does the same as a (very good defensive) catcher and switch hitter it’s not enough.
Swanton, Vermont Loves You Cal. ! You are our MVP !!!!!!
Should be co-MVP’s this year. You can’t fault Judge for winning even though Raliegh’s season was absolutely unicorn and would win MVP 9 times out of 10..
Not for nothing, ESPN has Cal has the 22nd best defensive catcher in 2025. I’m not sure what he is ranked on other sites, but that does not seem a good enough stat for an MVP..
Article cites Judge’s stats as .311
He hit .331 in 2025.
Judge only won it because he’s a Skankee. Cal is was much more valuable. He plays the most demanding position . No catcher in history has hit more home runs. He was robbed!
Raleigh was way more valuable to his mid-market team than Judge was on his team with a sky high payroll. Raleigh should have won the award. Judge only won because he was a Yankee.
I was really hoping Cal would win. He had a huge narrative boost that the writers typically love. You can also make a very compelling argument that what catchers have to do day in and day out is far beyond what stats like WAR can hope to measure.
That being said, Judge was not just a little bit better as a hitter. He was a LOT better. I can certainly understand him getting the win.
Another pathetic post season choke, this time by the voters. One team won the division, the other team did not. It’s not very hard to figure out who was more valuable. It’s not just a statistical award, it’s called valuable for a reason.
Glad I wasn’t voter in this one. Two incredible seasons.
Congrats to Judge.
NY bias
Boring
Judge had to overcome the anti-Yankee bias as usual.
It’s what you’d expect every year, nothing new. Cal did something no other Catcher has ever done in the history of baseball. Boring results
I am a big time Yankees hater but this was the correct outcome.
The catcher should have got it. Nothing compares for being a switch hitter and catcher and putting up that kind of year. Period.
MLB has always had a Nu Yawk bias and probably always will.