Judge bests Raleigh for 3rd AL MVP in 4 years

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge won his third AL MVP in the last four seasons, making him just the 13th player ever to own at least three MVPs.

In a hotly contested vote that ended up as close as the debate surrounding the award, Judge received 17 of 30 first-place votes to edge out Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh by 20 points. Raleigh – who garnered 13 first-place votes following his remarkable 60-homer campaign – and Judge were the only players who received first- or second-place votes.

The margin of victory was the closest for an AL MVP race since Mike Trout’s 20-point win in 2019.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez finished in third place.

Judge is now the third Yankees player to win three MVPs while wearing pinstripes, joining franchise icons Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle. He’s the 20th player to win in consecutive seasons and the first AL player to earn back-to-back MVPs since the Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and ’13.

The season was another historic one for the 33-year-old slugger, who hit .331/.457/.688 and led the majors in all four slash-stat categories, including OPS (1.144). Judge also recorded his fourth career and second consecutive 50-homer campaign, putting him alongside Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Babe Ruth for the most career 50-homer seasons.

Overall, Judge finished his year with 53 long balls, 114 RBIs, 85 extra-base hits, 137 runs scored, and 124 walks over 679 plate appearances. He led the AL in runs, walks, extra-base hits, and total bases (372) and was intentionally walked an MLB-high 36 times.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished fourth, while Detroit Tigers ace and reigning two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal came in fifth. Julio Rodríguez, George Springer, Garrett Crochet, Junior Caminero, and Jeremy Peña also earned top-10 finishes.

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