Yankees' Aaron Judge Has No MVP Competition

New York Yankees outfielder and captain Aaron Judge is having one of his best seasons yet. He's a seven-time All-Star and is once again in the MVP conversation, going for his fourth time with the honor. However, some critics are suggesting Judge could be pushed out.

One of the loudest names in competition with Judge is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Raleigh is having an incredible season and is leading the league with 38 home runs. He also won Monday's home run derby, crushing heavy hitters like Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder ONeil Cruz.

Some fans have taken to pointing out that Raleigh's hitting stats are massively impressive "for a catcher," given that catchers generally require different builds and skillsets than outfielders. While that may be true, the AL MVP award is not for player with the best stats given their position.

Judge is leading the league post All-Star break in batting average (.355), on base percentage (.462), slugging percentage (.733), OPS (1.195), hits (125). He trails only Raleigh for homers (35) and is second in runs (85) only to Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani (91). If Judge were on any other team, these feats 11 years into a career would be considered miraculous. Because he plays for a team that is so known for dominance that they're hated for it, he's put into competition with players just not on his level.

While there is no clear-cut criteria for the personality of an MVP, Judge is an exemplary as captain as well as player. He's well respected by his teammates, keeps to himself and invests time into the local community with his All Rise Foundation. Though plenty of other players on other teams exhibit these same characteristics, Judge's MVP case is bolstered by his character.

If awards weren't broken down by league, things may be different. Ohtani is cautiously making his way back to pitching, drawing comparisons to other great two-way players along the way. Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal is mentioned in conversations for both the NL MVP and Cy-Young awards. These are some of the players who could conceviably be on the same level as Judge: they're just not in the same league.

When it comes to AL MVP, the answer is clear. Raleigh is having an incredible season, and his efforts deserve to be rewarded, but only Judge sits on top as a king of not just the MLB, but of all professional sports.

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