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 .331/.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.
Wander – I get what you’re saying and I agree, Cal NEVER should have participated in Homerun Derby! Many of us here, including me, warned him not to participate.
And sure enough …..
1.011 OPS from Opening Day thru the AS break
Then .643 OPS for the month directly after the AS break.
If he doesn’t do the derby, he wins MVP.
“If he doesn’t do the derby, he wins MVP.”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
People from 2000 years ago can see how wrong you are
Juan – Come on now, if you’re gonna use a famous phrase please be sure to use it correctly and do try to incorporate at least some critical thinking while doing so.
Based solely on the order in which events happened?
No, of course not.
Based on tons of logic, facts and historical data.
Comparison 1.1: Pre-Derby to Post-Derby, for Seasons Where Player Did Participate
Pre-Derby Post Derby
OPS HR % OPS HR %
.969 6.061 .926 5.346
At a time of year when hitters historically perform better (mid-July thru end of August), he performed by far his worst.
Since you’re obviously not aware, MLB hitters generally perform better in July and August due to warmer weather increasing ball flight distance and improving human reaction times. Historical data shows a rise in home runs and offensive production during these months compared to colder periods.
Also the fact Cal’s performance rebounded in late August and especially September is likely evidence that his immediate and drastic decline in performance for the monthlong period directly after the AS break was NOT related to him experiencing normal fatigue or wearing down.
So I’ve provided, as usual, a helluva lot of facts, logic and data to support my belief the derby likely caused a month-long slump for Cal.
What do you have to support your insistence the derby had nothing to do with his dramatic and immediately decline in performance? I’m not aware of any injuries he was battling, or personal issues. So what do YOU believe caused the dramatic and instantaneous decline?
FPG
Cool to see Crochet and Chapman got some recognition for MVP. I couldn’t find any voting for comeback p.o.y . Trevor Story had to be considered.
I’m sure the hr derby didn’t help Raleigh, but catching every day can and does breakdown the body like no other position. Why would players continue to participate,why would management allow them to ? Maybe it should be written into contract language… I know I don’t want any Sox to participate.
cdc – Players tend to participate the first time they are invited, just for the experience. The financial reward is also motivation, and if the player’s team is not a contender then it’s not that big a deal.
The fact that Cal’s team was a contender, and the position he plays, and the big contract he already has, made it nonsensical for him to participate. It was a bad decision, no question about it. And the putrid month he had immediately after the derby is proof of that.
Yeah weird that Comeback Player voting is nowhere to be found.
Post hoc tuah
FPG
“be sure to use it correctly”
I did use it correctly
“Pre-Derby Post Derby
OPS HR % OPS HR %
.969 6.061 .926 5.346”
“Conclusion: We studied the effect of participating in the Home Run Derby in two ways. First, we compared the second-half performance of HRD participants with the performance of non-participants who were closest when comparing a set of conditioning statistics. Then we repeated the analysis, but this time compared the second-half performance of HRD participants with the performance of non-participants who had the same probability of being invited to the HRD — expressed as a weighted average of the conditioning variables. In both cases, we saw that playing in the Home Run Derby did not result in a decline in overall productivity. In fact, our analysis suggests that playing in the Home Run Derby caused an increase in HR and RBI and a decline in OBP.”
Source: FanGraphs share.google/zBGOYwPu8Ze3jfMTC
Go on
Juan – No, you did not use it correctly. You are not reading, you are only typing.
“Based SOLELY on the order in which events happened” does not apply here. I can’t make the word “SOLELY” any bigger for you.
And thank you for the laugh trying to use Fangraphs to support your insistence that Cal’s dramatic and immediate monthlong slump had nothing to do with the derby.
“with the performance of non-participants who were closest when comparing a set of conditioning statistics.” …. so you’re using DIFFERENT players, most of whom weren’t as talented obviously, and there’s no consideration taken for other driving factors such as the overall increase in offense during the summer because of weather (again, you didn’t read).
This part is the absolute funniest: “Then we repeated the analysis, but this time compared the second-half performance of HRD participants with the performance of non-participants who had the same probability of being invited to the HRD”
It is literally impossible to guess who “had the same probability of being invited to the HRD” because there is absolutely no set criteria. It’s not like they tell the league leaders in homeruns that they must participate. Most of the top homerun hitters refuse for various reasons. And many are selected for reasons that have nothing to do with performance. They could be selected because of their age, their willingness to participate, their team’s contention status, where the derby takes place, etc etc.
No offense but you’ve proven why so many these days care more about confirmation bias than actually doing some critical thinking on their own.
That’s a lot of words to say that you’re just guessing” – “It happened after the HRD, thus it was because of the HRD”
“Post hoc, ergo propter hoc”
“you’re using DIFFERENT players”
A control group, yes
You 2 (Uribe & Fever pitch) need to get a life … potato potatoe… 🙂 🙂 no term papers on this media please!
Cal play declined a bit yes, impacted. Judge was injured for 10 days or so. It evened out, Judge won, and deserved the MVP. Cal won’t duplicate this season again, Judge has & will do so again.
yank – Nowhere in this universe does Judge not playing 10 games even out with Cal tanking his stats during a monthlong slump.
I am totally fine with Judge winning it, but the fact remains Cal torpedoed his own chances by doing the derby.
And I’m already done with “I’ll write whatever I want and ignore what you write” Juan ;O)
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.
You Yankee haters are hilarious. Judge almost won the triple crown.
Yup! Judge is the best DH!
Cal almost won the MVP
I’m a Yankee hater and I think the writers got it correct. Judge is the best hitter in baseball. Better than Cal, better than Soto, better than Ohtani. Dammit
Almost, except he had less HRs and RBI than Cal.
Last I checked batting is only half of the game of baseball. When it comes to defense Cal Raleigh crushed Judge.
@Chester
As a Yankee fan I’m obviously happy for Judge but had it been voted for Cal them I wouldn’t be mad. Considering the position he plays and the level of defense, games played and dynamic power, he’s a unicorn or at lest the best since Johnny Bench. That bring said, Judge is just a much better hitter. Cal is a much easier out than Judge is. But Cal was just as deserving. A co-MVP would’ve been cool but I know that’s not an option to vote it like that.
@b2b
Except he’s an OF that every team would love to stick out in RF.
Really? homers and rbis is what you focus on on and ignore batting average, obp and slugging? walk rate?
Yes exactly!
Judge had a good season? Better look at the stats again. Cal had an amazing year for HRs and RBIs, but Aaron had a much better overall year. Walks, runs, batting average, etc. Judge deserved it. Numbers don’t lie.
You’re completely discounting the catcher position, which is silly. It ain’t the most walks award, or even the best hitter award.
If you can hit .200 and play defense, you can have a 15 year catching career in the bigs. THAT’S how important catching is. We don’t even expect offense from catchers. Judge is a great hitter. Cal is a unicorn.
Cal plays a much more demanding position, which is definitely something to consider when looking at the overall player. However, it should also be taken into account that Cal’s defense was closer to average this year compared to last. He still rated as a good framer, but he was middle of the pack for throwing and pop time and near the bottom for blocking (all from savant). His DRS dropped from +17 in 2024 to +2 in 2025. He had a +7 FRV (+22 in 2024). Judge had +3 DRS and +5 FRV. So, both were saving runs above average in their respective positions and pretty similarly. I believe if Cal had put up the same defensive numbers as he did in 2024, he would have won MVP.
Edit: as a note, in case anyone asks, DRS and FRV take into account defensive position.
Vegas is it me or does it seem as some fans don’t realize how great of a all around hitter Judge is especially in the era where some fans think batting average is a bs stat and that sabre metrics stats is the only thing that matters? Cal certainly had a great year no doubt, but Judge is just a beast!!!!
Judge got walked intentionally constantly and led in total walks (124?). Especially even when he was the game winning batter up with no one on base! Nuts! Cal didn’t they pitched to him mostly.
simon – He robbed himself by insisting on doing the derby.
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.
I’ll trust the BBWAA than the casual fans on this site….
Both cohorts are full of idiots, in fairness. A recent President of the BBWAA lost his HOF ballot somewhere between his desk and the mailbox.
Cal deserved it. WAR isn’t a perfect stat. If it were, there wouldn’t be two versions of it to choose from.
“Cal deserved it.”
Random guessing isn’t perfect, otherwise there wouldn’t be different opinions on things
WAR does not measure value. WAR is the result of an overly mathematical attempt to try and normalize production across different positions, different teams, different stadiums, etc.
One thing it does not do, is measure.
It manipulates, fudges, over evaluates, under evaluates, and attempts to provide one number to represent all production; an impossibility.
Is it useful? Generally speaking, yes. Does comparing the WAR of two players of two different positions on two different teams give a complete representation of their relative production? Absolutely not.
RE Sadler.
Love it when people who likely maxed out in middle school math try to critique WAR
“It manipulates”
How so?
“fudges”
How so?
“over evaluates, under evaluates”
How so?
Nah he got it because he’s better actually
Mad respect for Cal. But please stop the NY hate. Judge didn’t win because he’s a Yankee. He won because he deserved it.
Disregard
Sorry, but he won in SPITE of being a Yankee. You may want to believe that the press loves the Yankees. But if you follow this website and read the chats notice how often there is NOT ONE SINGLE QUESTION FROM YANKEES FANS. NONE! Pay attention, because this is just a snapshot of the baseball press’s hostility towards the team. I’m not discounting the possibility that website and heritage news sources are merely playing to their audience. Totally possible. But you are very mistaken in your belief in some kind of positive Yankees bias.
Even if yoiu somehow believe that there is no bias from the media in favor of the Yankees, I’d posit that a lot of hate for the Yankees is because of how simply insufferable their fans are. No offense, of course.
Judge got it because he almost won the triple crown and is the best hitter in baseball
Yeah, it’s pretty simple.
I definitely didn’t see that coming!!!
Cap – Neither did I, only because I thought the uniqueness of Cal’s performance as a catcher plus Judge’s prior two MVP awards would sway enough voters.
At least this makes up for Judge getting robbed by the cheating Altuve.
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.
You probably don’t even follow baseball because you would know that Judge put up those numbers playing through a serious elbow injury missing ten games, then having to DH to save his team’s season. He suffered through a slump.because of the injury before snapping out of it near the end of the season. But no, he wasn’t the most valuable, rookie boy.
Neither won the glove at their positions or a finalist. But again look at Kyle schwarber and ohanti as DH bats.
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
That and the .200 point OPS difference and the almost 50 OPS+ difference.
If you took .200 off Raleigh’s OPS he’s league average. You take that off Judge, you have Raleigh.
If Raleigh hit 63 Home Runs to break Judge’s record he wins it. If he wins the Gold Glove in addition to this season, he wins it. Hell, maybe even if he’s a GG finalist he wins it.
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.
🤡
Judge beat Cal on AVG by .084 and OPS by almost .200
these are not small numbers
he also had him beat in bWAR by 2.3 and fWAR by 1
unfortunately for Cal, the MVP isn’t given to whoever hits the most home runs. greatest offensive season by a catcher still wasn’t enough to be the best hitter in the AL. maybe he could have won it if he was elite behind the dish, but he wasn’t close to that this year
George, I think you may have that backwards. Cal had the Cinderella story season achieving what he did as a switch hitting catcher who was behind in all but two major stats. Judge won the vote on stats and metrics all mathematical very calculated. If Cal would have won it would have been on the sentimental level. Of course that’s just my opinion.
Aaron Judge wasn’t the better hitter in the AL & if you are basing it on who was the Best Hitter than you failed with Aaron Judge
You can argue all you want & there is more to being an MVP than just what a Player does at the Plate. Cal Raleigh was more valuable than Aaron Judge in 2025 & the only reason Judge won the Award is solely based on sentimentality nothing more & nothing less. Your Argument was used when fools like you were saying that a Player on a Last Place Team shouldn’t win the MVP & that Argument what debunked when Andre Dawson won the MVP Playing for the Last Place Chicago Cubs.
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!!!
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.
And Judge was still more productive
Not really. Judge won. Pretty happy about that.
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
Judge also set records one of them being the most HR by a batting champion.
Cal also set the record for most HRs by a HR champion and most RBIs by an RBI champion.
@Trident
Ummmm….no? Most homeruns by a HR champ? Wouldn’t everyone who got over 60 homeruns, aside from Sosa, be able to claim that? And Cal didn’t lead the league in rbis. Am I missing something?
As he should have, but what Cal Raleigh did in 2025 will be remembered for years.
No one remembers second place finishes.
Everyone remembers who lost game 5 in ’24
Their great seasons will always be remembered. I don’t really care who wins these awards anyway. They were both deserving of the MVP award this year. The voters have decided.
*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.
The very numbers I referenced are taking into account the demands of the positions. That’s what I keep telling you guys.
“how grueling the catcher position is. It is by faaaaar the most demanding position”
Positional adjustments
RF -7.5
C -12.5
Raleigh had a 20 run advantage.
And still came up 10 runs short
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.
According to baseball Savant Judge was 6th for RF in all of baseball.
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.
No lol Wompwomp
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
Maybe commenters who post nonsense should go to the BBWAA website and see who voted for who.
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
Yes
Everyone has Cal as the second best player in the AL before the season started
What a very good thought you had
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?
Belli was good, but by no means a feared hitter. Stanton was hurt half the year.
Palanco had a similar year to Belli
Julio is awfully good as well
Yankees had a better offense, but Seattle’s pitching (bullpen for sure) was better.
This is what WAR measures
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
More than a slight correction!
Such BS, I wonder what numbers Judge would put up playing 140 games behind the plate?
Can Cal play RF?
Imagine if he played quarterback for a 140 games. He’d have put up awesome numbers! Or or… if he had played in zero gravity!
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.
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
If you’re going by the triple crown stats, Cal led the AL in HRs and RBIs… while catching! Easy decision.
Guys, guys. The real MVP is you.
It’s not the friends we made along the way?
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.
Is home runs the only measurement that’s important to offensive performance?
Posey, Posada, Mauer have all had higher OPS seasons, piazza has 4 seasons that he’s had a higher ops than Raleigh this season.
Very good season from Raleigh, but it wasn’t the best catcher season of all time and you comparing him to ‘unicorn’ Ohtani is just plain ridiculous
I love when people defiantly make an emotional pitch in the face of statistics and say ‘full stop’ for emphasis. Judge, statistically, had a much better all-around season. Raleigh’s season was cooler and probably more memorable. But give me the stats, personally.
If I were a Mariners fan, I would be highly frustrated as well. Your catcher hit 60 home runs and doesn’t win the MVP – I get it. But the simple truth is Aaron Judge put up an absolute monster year. The almost 200 points difference in OPS is the reason. Yes Raleigh gets a few points for being a catcher, but it doesn’t make up for that big of a disparity.
It does though. He managed a staff. Had no passed balls. Spent the season crouching for nine innings getting smacked by fouls and bats. Hit from both sides of the plate, too. In a pitcher’s park.
This shows that OPS and WAR, even wRC+, are still flawed measures.
It’s subjective. I’m not saying because more voters agreed with me that I’m right, but… it is what it is, we all have an opinion.
I’m an Astros fan and the year Jose Altuve won it, I thought Judge deserved it more. So whatevs
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.
When Judge set a historic record, he had a 210 OPS+ and 10.8 bWAR/11.1 fWAR. This year, Raleigh had a 169 OPS+ and 7.4 bWAR/9.1 fWAR. That’s the difference. There’s no conspiracy here. You’re just all up in your feels.
I’m just cranky still from that Pirates post from yesterday
You’re probably going to set him off by providing facts and calling out his feels lol
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..
So? He also hit 60 bombs, almost half in a pitcher’s park park, playing the hardest position on the diamond ALL YEAR. With no passed balls! Insane combination of accomplishments. While Judge stood in the grass.
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.
I guess pitchers should usually win the MVP because they have to catch so many balls the catcher throws them.
):<
That Judge won the MVP because he is Yankee is a misinformed comment. Actually, Yankee players in the Steinbrenner era never win close elections and only win awards when they have had an extraordinary season. This is the era of analytics, and the deciding numbers are Judge about 200 points above Raleigh in OPS and 45 points above him in OPS+. Besides, Raleigh gets credit for breaking several historic home run records, but Judge had a better overall offensive year. Raleigh also had a down year defensively, if you want to point to him being a catcher.
The voters in Texas and Florida voted against the guy in Seattle…hmmm…
I’d be impressed if judge didn’t play half his games in that little league ball park. Cal got hosed.
The right result, but still a bummer to see Raleigh couldn’t get there.
I can’t stand the Yankees but this is the correct move. Raleigh had an amazing season but Judge’s was even better
Congrats to Captain Judge!
Congrats to Aaron Judge. Well deserved.
Congrats to Cal Raleigh. A great season also.
Sal – No love for Jose Ramirez? He had a great season as well.
Jose Ramirez ALWAYS steps up. A great all-around player.
I meant no slight. If I mentioned all the super studs in MLB I’d run out of space.
Raleigh played 121 games at catcher, one of the most demanding and important positions on the field, which includes calling games and interacting with pitching staffs. Judge played a whooping 95 in RF, DHing the rest of the time. It could be argued his time in RF was a negative impact on his team. It’s not the silver slugger award it’s the MVP. If you took Raleigh away, the impact on the Mariners would be so much more than taking away Judge from the Yankees. WAR/OPS+ is not everything. It doesn’t account for positional importance/impact and attrition.
WAR absolutely accounts for just those things. That’s one of the entire points of its existence. It factors in positional difficulty and defensive impact. Catchers receive one of the biggest positional boosts from it, especially with fWAR which factors in pitch framing as well.
Catchers getting a ranking ‘boost’ from this metric or that still doesn’t do justice to how insane Cal’s season was or how valuable he was to the best post season run in Mariner history.
Judge DHing 1/3 of his ABs and playing a below average RF the other 2/3’s just adds salt to the wound.
Judge had 199 AB as a DH and Cal had 147. Judge was worth 3 OAA and +2 DRS. Kinda dimishes your argument there. Judge was above average in the field and the DH time is almost a wash. Sure Cal was better defensively, but Judge was significantly better in every single offensive category aside from 7 HR and 11 RBIs. Cal had an amazing and even historic season but Judge was still better. I’m a Mets fan that can’t stand the Yankees so my bias would lean towards Cal. I would rather see him win it, but he just wasn’t the best player. We gotta look at these things logically and not skew the reality of it.
In a tiny right field, BFD
WAR also accounts for park factors, adjusting player statistics to neutralize the effects of playing in hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly ballparks
Yeah, so they say. I fail to see how that can be even remotely accurate in this case. No f’n way what Raleigh did in a pitcher’s park on offense PLUS his defense is totally negated by Judge’s offense and his lame defensive deployment.
I would have preferred a two vote swing to Cals side for a tie. If the M’s pitching performed like 2024, I think Cal takes it. Catchers are built different. Judge is a spectacle, generational talent. Judge fans are lucky Ohtani is in the national league. Could only imagine.
Most Valuable Designated Hitter
Just because Cal was the DH 38 times doesn’t mean he should be considered a DH bub. The guy is a catcher!!!
Judge had 253 PAs as a DH. Cal had 533 PAs as a catcher. Let that sink in.
Cal had one of the greatest seasons for a catcher ever
Judge had one of the greatest season ever! Like it would have been Barry bonds best season ever.
Judge deserved it
You don’t know who Barry Bonds is, do you? Bonds had 4 years in a row better than Judge. Look at 2001 to 2004 Bonds… video game esque.
Bonds had more intentional walks in 1 year (120) than Judge has in his career.
Bonds career strike out % was 12.2%
His walk % was 20.3%
7 MVP awards spanning 15 years… pretty darn impressive.
Going by memory bonds never hit 330 with 53 home runs all the intentional walks got in the way.
Sorry just saw my typo — bonds SECOND best season.
Lol that 70 something homer year can’t be ignored lol
I posted this under another article.
Judge – 204 wRC+ – 27th highest of all-time
Raleigh – 161 wRC+ – 11th highest of all-time among catchers
Just remember – Stanks lost their division and got knocked out earlier. No matter how much y’all try to twist and churn, this is a participation trophy for the Yanks and nothing more.
These things kind of happen when the team you root for has 33 consecutive above .500 seasons. 34 in 2026! And maybe another MVP too!
I was hoping for a tie because they were both amazing years and that would have created its own firestorm!!
As far as naked stats go, I favor OBP as the single most important individual – and Net Runs (R+RBI-HR) as the most team-focused – offensive stat when taking these retrospective looks.
It so happens Judge was superior in both: .457 vs .359 OBP and 198 (137+114-53) vs 175 (110+125-60). I don’t know how to quantify Cal’s other skills in a way to overcome that difference.
I’m surprised by the vote count however the Comments are hilarious! Thanks for not disappointing.
Goldilocks Baseballs prevail.
Let’s see, who should I go with….the BBWAA or a bunch of casual fans….
I love baseball the sport but I am losing interest in MLB. Just don’t care about Los Angelas and New York that much. This was Cal Raleigh’s magical season. Reward the man.
Judge was hurt at one point and the Mariners finished better than the Yankees.
Cal might have had a career year. He’s young enough to give himself more chances whether that is true or not.
Judge, on the other hand, has been doing it well enough, long enough that we are witnessing a Hall-of-Famer in the making. Trying to tear him down instead of respecting the talent is just, for lack of a better word, pathetic.
Not even. If Cal had a 215 OPS+ and was 200 points higher than 2nd place in OPS AND he caught? It might be considered the greatest season of all time, it would be like if Ohtani did 50/50 while also pitching. 200 OPS is Babe Ruth/Hank Aaron/Barry Bonds territory, that’s how great Judge is. Judge also had more than double the intentional walks that Raleigh did. Teams simply feared Judge more.
How did Roger Maris win those back to back MVP’s as a Yankee right fielder? Surely there must have been a more deserving catcher.
They got this one wrong
I support your choice!
Yankees haters get ignited. Judge is actually underrated at this point.
What a stupid comment
If the only criteria for winning an MVP is having the best offensive numbers, they need to change the name of the award. Cal was more “valuable” as a catcher than controls a pitching staff as good as any in the game while hitting 60 HRs as a switch hitter. It was an unreal feat that may never be matched. MVP goes the better hitter that DHs and plays a bad RF, I guess.
Is what you’re saying is you’ve never seen Judge play? Because that’s as bad of a take on his defense as can be.
Bud it’s okay that they both had great seasons. But Aaron Judge is on a historic run right now playing some of the best baseball I have ever seen post-steroid era. And he backs the offense with being the best right fielder in the game.
You’re not going to see this something like this again for a bit. I’d say instead of hating on Judge for whatever reasons you have you sit back and watch one of the greatest offensive runs in the game ever. Or be mad about it and continue to not watch him.
Best right fielder in the game? You’re definitely off your rocker. He isn’t in the top half of the league among defensive right fielders. Plus he had 1/3 of this ABs as a DH.. ONE THIRD.
Again, if we’re just going by AVG/OBP/SLG, then it was Judge hands down. But if we’re going on value to the team, Cal led a very good pitching staff as an everyday catcher, shattered MLBs HR record as a catcher and switch hitter, led baseball in HRs, the AL in RBIs and got his team to within 8 outs of the their first World Series. …Best season in Seattle history. I’d say that’s most valuable.
It’s okay if you have never seen him play. It’s okay if you have never looked at his defensive metrics…..but I would do both of those before spewing nonsense.
He was also at DH because when he tore up his elbow and left the lineup the Yankees started spinning out of control losing. Dude came back when he should’ve had TJS!!!! That’s how “valuable” he is. The Yankees literally can’t win games without him in the lineup.
Oh yeah waiting for you to list 15 better defensive right fielders. I personally don’t think you have the balls to even try to make that list because you would like like a doofus.
Well truth be told he isn’t even in the top half of defensive metrics for Right Fielders in the league. Best offensive guy sure thing but not the most valuable. Judge is amazing but the award doesn’t go to the most valuable anymore
Judge batted .331, not .311.
I love Judge, but not how I woulda voted. Cal Raleigh’s head should be held high
Raleigh was more valuable in the truest sense of the word IMO. If the M’s didnt have Raleigh they wouldn’t have even sniffed the post season. The intangibles of Raleigh being a catcher also must be considered…all season and not a single IL trip while catching over 120 games. What a horse. Probably won’t ever recreate that magical season, shame he didn’t get the W.
“Were sick of these damn small markets. Didn’t you see how much money that World Series made?”
Seattle, you don’t count.
Guys you really have to get over the fact that Cal Raleigh hit 11 HR’s as a DH this year. He is still a catcher…not a DH. Give it up already!!!
Judge may likely set the all-time record for MVP awards in either league. Pity his team won’t win the World Series during his career. A shame.
In time we’ll reevaluate what Cal did. Yes WAR favors Judge along with other things, but the totality of what Raleigh did as historic will be properly measured in the future for the most taxed job with the most responsibilities.
It’s called East Coast bias. Nobody from Seattle stands a chance. But Cal can be proud knowing he did more offensively and defensively combined than anyone else in the league to get his team as deep in the playoffs. Everyone in Seattle knows it, and most outside the little NYC echo chamber. Congrats to Cal for an historic season.
Article has Judge’s avg at .311 but it should be .331
Probably just a typo but… *shrug*
Gay
So stupid
Glad the vote was close but the voters really need to take a step back and evaluate what MVP really means. It’s Most Valuable Player not best offensive player in their respective league. We have the batting title which is for average, but for best offensive player maybe there should be an award which would hands down go to Judge. Most Valuable Player is for the player who is the biggest asset to their team, statistically in defense and offense and measuring where this team would be without them. And to mention Mr. Raleigh set two records that we wont see broken in our lifetime in the most grueling position in the sport. I love Judge and he’s a pleasure to watch however he’s not a great right fielder, Raleigh is a platinum glove catcher. His average may not have been there but he did everything else. And if that’s your argument that Judge hit .331 (come on MLBTR) he already won a batting title.
Judge is an amazing player, but even without him, the Yankees have a great year because they are one of the best teams that money can buy. The Mariners on the other hand would probably not have made the playoffs by putting a catcher hitting .200 with 15 HRs in his spot in their lineup.
Judge can enjoy his mvp while thinking about getting obliterated by the blue jays. Amazing that a historic season and 60hr isn’t good enough. First player in history to hit 60hr and not win mvp.
I love this comment so much. Hope Yanks fans can enjoy this little victory knowing they got stomped out by a division rival – and couldn’t even win their own division!
What would it be like to compare the best position player seasons among non-MYP winners (from when the award actually existed, of course)? How does Cal Raleigh in 2025 rank among the likes of Ted Williams in 1941, Mark McGwire in 1998, Albert Pujols in 2003 and 2006, etc.?
Judge is the best Offensive player in Baseball and it is not even close. He had a great year. Raleigh should have won because of the historical season he had as a CATCHER. Playing Catcher versus playing the OF is a massive difference in the wear and tear of playing in a 162 game season. Catchers take massive punishment from foul balls on a daily basis and multiply each of those times by almost every game. It is just physically a disadvantage to the offensive side of the game.
With that said, once again the writer who vote for these awards base their vote predominantly on Statistics and continue to show why they are writers and most never were players or had the ability to play baseball. ALL VOTING FOR SEASON AWARDS should be done by a Panel of Retired Players. Every team should have 5 retired players as part of the committee. Criteria should be a player should have at least 10 years of MLB Service time and these players should be paid for their Participation as a Panel Member. This would provide a better representation of QUALIFIED VOTERS.
Why don’t we just rename the award “Top Offensive Player”? If that’s the case, then its Judge.
But its supposedly Most “Valuable” Player.
Judge put up his numbers in a great lineup overall that had a .787 OPS. For all the grousing Yankees fans had about their pitching, the pitching staff pitched to a .3.91 ERA/105 ERA+. The Yankees still make the playoffs and probably still win over 90 games without Judge.
Raleigh handled a pitching staff. The Mariners’ offense overall had an above average .740, Their pitching was very average…3.87 ERA but in Seattle, which translates to only 98 ERA+. Certainly easy to fathom without Raleigh’s input the Mariners win at least 3 less games, which allows Houston to overtake them and make even miss the playoffs.
Raleigh was more valuable a player. Judge had better offensive #’s overall.
This is crazy to read all the people that say being a Yankee did not have a factor into the decision. Don’t get me wrong Judge had a monster season and deserves to be in the conversation BUT this is the complete opposite of what happened in 2021 when Vladdy had a better offensive season than Ohtani but he lost to Ohtani because he pitched (all be it every 6th day) and that gave him the edge over Vladdy BUT here people are saying what Cal did behind the plate this year don’t mater because Judge had a better offensive season.
If Cal was the Yankee and Judge in Seattle then Cal would have won.
Good parallel.
Both players had phenomenal seasons… Stop arguing!
Robbery. Biggest snub since I can’t even remember.
Cal got robbed button
Raleigh did well to participate in the home run derby and made a great decision to do so, regardless of his performance in the month following the derby. He plays in Seattle and Judge plays in New York. If Raleigh doesn’t participate in the derby, he does nothing to raise his national profile. Everyone knows Judge. Passive fans knew little about Raleigh. He goes out and wins the derby with his dad and little brother and becomes something of an instant face of the game. People begin to talk about his chances of winning the MVP and he almost pulled it off. I don’t think the voting is this close if he didn’t raise his profile in the middle of summer and got eyes on what he was doing, while somewhat hidden in Seattle. And, I know fans aren’t voting for MVP but fans are noticing along with voters and the voters are fans at heart.