Yankees’ Aaron Judge wins AL MVP for third time in four years

The American League’s Most Valuable Player award has been debated for months.

what honor will go New York Yankees right fielder aaron judge For the third time in four years, or so, after another extraordinary offensive season seattle mariners catcher cal raleighWho entered his name in the record books with 60 home runs?

On Thursday, voters narrowly chose Judge, who continued to cement his place among baseball’s all-time greats by becoming the 13th player to win three or more MVPs. He joins Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees to accomplish this feat.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote was one of the closest in years. The judge received 17 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes out of 30. Raleigh received another 13 first-place votes while finishing second on 17 other ballots.

If the two writers had changed their votes it would have been a tie.

cleveland patron third baseman jose ramirez stood third, and kansas city royals shortstop bobby wit jr Was the fourth.

The judge, courteous as always, was quick to congratulate Raleigh and Ramirez.

“He had two incredible seasons,” Judge told MLB Network. “It’s always fun to play against both of them, especially when we play Seattle. The main goal is, ‘Make sure Cal can’t beat you.'”

Judge won the award for the first time in 2022, when he hit an American League-record 62 home runs. After his 2023 season was derailed by a toe injury, he recorded one of the greatest seasons in major league history en route to his second MVP in 2024, slashing .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI.

He followed that up with another stellar campaign in 2025, although it was interrupted by two weeks on the injured list due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.

For Judge, 2025 was arguably the best season of his career.

“I know I say this often when meeting with our media throughout the season, but I never want to be disappointed with his consistency and the magnitude of his accomplishments,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s becoming difficult for me to use words to explain how good he is. He’s playing at a high level right now, and has been playing for a long time.”

He won his first batting title with a .331 average – 20 points better than the rest of the major league pack. Judge hit 53 home runs, becoming the fourth player to hit at least 50 home runs in four seasons, while passing Berra and DiMaggio for fourth on the Yankees’ all-time home run list.

“You try not to think about it during the season,” Judge said of the batting title. “I try to keep my head down all 162, just do whatever I can to help my team win today’s game. And you do what you can, give it your all, and then you get up the next day and do it again.”

53 home runs were the most for any batting champion. He led the majors in OPS (1.144), wRC+ (204) and fWAR (10.1). He became the fifth player in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to top the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in the same season. He also set an AL record with 36 intentional walks.

Judge could have left the Yankees a few years ago but he re-signed as a free agent.

“It’s a lot of responsibility playing in New York, but that’s what I love,” Judge told MLB Network. “When I was a free agent, I came back to New York. I wanted to play in the city, play for these fans, play with these high expectations.”

His MVP resume did not include the best postseason of his career. Judge slashed .500/.581/.692 in 31 plate appearances in the Yankees’ brief playoff showing. His three-run home run off the foul pole at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the AL Division Series helped the Yankees temporarily stave off elimination and a breakout postseason after their October struggles in other years.

But a World Series title is still missing from Judge’s resume as the Yankees’ title drought extends to 16 years in 2025. For now, Judge is the greatest Yankee without a World Series championship.

The Raleigh vs. Judge debate was the most contentious MVP argument in over a decade, as both sluggers put together historic seasons.

Raley, a switch-hitting catcher, became only the seventh player to hit 60 home runs in a season. he fell apart salvador perezThe previous mark of 48 home runs by a primary catcher and surpassed Mantle’s record of 54 homers by a switch-hitter.

Raley hit .247/.359/.589 with 60 home runs, a league-leading 125 RBI and 110 runs scored.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield contributed to this report.