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Aaron Judge’s Latest MVP Award Could Come With a Price

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 10:01 AM ET

Although the New York Yankees’ season continues falling off the rails, superstar outfielder Aaron Judge remains on track to win his third AL MVP Award.

Judge entered Monday leading the league in batting average (.337), OPS (1.137), and bWAR (6.5). He’s posted 37 home runs and 86 RBIs for the third-place Yankees, who dropped to 62-56 and 6 1/2 games back in the AL East after Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros.

Nonetheless, Judge remains the AL MVP odds-on favorite, though he could join an unfortunate club in the process. If Judge wins the MVP and the Yankees don’t win the World Series, he’d become only the third player in league history with three MVP Awards and no World Series rings.

We imagine that you’re familiar with the club’s other members. Barry Bonds won seven NL MVP Awards, but his 2002 San Francisco Giants lost the World Series to the Los Angeles Angels.

Speaking of the Angels, perennial All-Star Mike Trout owns three MVP Awards and counting. Unfortunately for Trout, the Angels haven’t made it to the postseason since 2014, and they’re currently six games back in the Wild Card race.

Twelve players have won at least three MVP Awards, though Bonds is the only one to capture four or more. Los Angeles Dodgers two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani won his third MVP and a World Series ring last year, and he’s widely expected to earn his fourth MVP Award.

The Yankees, who are 27-34 since June 1, have a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians for the AL’s third and final Wild Card spot. You’ll forgive us for not exactly believing this year’s Yankees team will win a playoff series, much less capture their first World Series title since 2009.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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