Yankees' Aaron Judge Shouldn't Have Had MVP Competition

While many fans and analysts would like to say they knew for certain that New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was going to win the 2025 AL MVP award, nothing is guaranteed. In fact, Judge faced stiff competition from Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, beating him out by only four votes.

The truth of the matter is that just should not have been the case.

Cal Raleigh is Not Competition for Aaron Judge

There's no denying Raleigh had an incredible season. His fifth year in the big leagues, he slammed 60 home runs (the most in the AL, with four more in the playoffs), and slashed .247/ .359/ .589 for an OPS of .948 during the regular season. And, as his supporters mention over and over again, he's a fat-bottomed catcher, not a tall, muscle clad outfielder like Judge. Anti-Yankee sentiment throughout the league led many to suggest that Raleigh's performance, due to his position, should be enough to grant him the MVP award.

However, the award doesn't go to the best player in spire of being a catcher. If that were true, it would be called the MVPISBC award. Judge whacked 53 home runs this season, and likely would have hit even more had he not suffered a right flexor strain that left him on the IL in late July. He also slashed an incredible .331/ .457/ .688 for an OPS of 1.145, leading the MLB in every single category.

The thing about Judge is that he is making those numbers every season. Maybe he isn't able to have a repeat of 2022, where he broke records with 62 regular season homers, but he hasn't had an OPS below 1.00 since 2021. History and consistency certainly plays a factor in voting, and Judge is both incredible and reliable.

Judge and Raleigh Forming Friendship?

Fortunately, unlike between fans, there's no bad blood between the two men: a testament to both of their characters. In fact, according to a post by Yankees insider Gary Phillips on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, Raleigh even picked Judge's mind about leadership during the 2025 All-Star game.

"If Cal won [the MVP award] and was the winner, there's an obvious reason for that. If I win, there's a reason too. So I think it's just good for the game," Judge said.