For the subsequent consecutive year, the New York Yankees’ team leader, Aaron Judge, has garnered the title of the American League’s Most Valuable Player. Judge triumphed over the Seattle Mariners’ catcher, Cal Raleigh, and the Cleveland Guardians’ third baseman, José Ramírez, for this esteemed accolade, as communicated by the BBWAA on Thursday evening.
The voting outcome illustrates a tight contest between Judge and Raleigh:
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Judge, Yankees | 17 | 13 | 355 | ||||||||
| Cal Raleigh, Mariners | 13 | 17 | 335 | ||||||||
| José Ramírez, Guardians | 19 | 6 | 5 | 224 | |||||||
| Bobby Witt Jr., Royals | 9 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 215 | ||||||
| Tarik Skubal, Tigers | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 139 | ||||
| Julio Rodríguez, Mariners | 1 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 136 | ||||
| George Springer, Blue Jays | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 125 | ||||
| Garrett Crochet, Red Sox | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 74 | ||||
| Junior Caminero, Rays | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 37 | ||||
| Jeremy Peña, Astros | 4 | 7 | 6 | 32 | |||||||
| Byron Buxton, Twins | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 30 | ||||||
| Nick Kurtz, Athletics | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 29 | |||||
| Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 3 | 14 | |||||||
| Cody Bellinger, Yankees | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||||
| Maikel Garcia, Royals | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||
| Bo Bichette, Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||
| Riley Greene, Tigers | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||
| Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Yandy Díaz, Rays | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Jacob Wilson, Athletics | 1 | 1 |
This marks Judge’s second successive MVP title and his third overall (previously winning in 2022). He joins the ranks of the 13th player to achieve three MVP awards. Only Barry Bonds (with seven) and Shohei Ohtani (with four), the latter being this year’s National League MVP, surpass him in this regard. Judge is the fourth member of the Yankees to secure three MVP titles, following in the footsteps of Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio (1939, 1941, 1947), Yogi Berra (1951, 1954-55), and Mickey Mantle (1956-57, 1962).
He is now among Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers prominent player who clinched National League MVP.
During the season, Judge recorded a .331/.457/.688 slash line, leading baseball in batting average by 20 points, on-base percentage by 58 points, and slugging percentage by 66 points. His count of 53 home runs positioned him second in the AL, trailing behind Raleigh’s impressive 60. Judge’s 9.7 WAR exceeded the next best player by 1.7 wins, as determined by Baseball Reference’s calculations.
Aaron Judge secures third MVP, yet the Yankees are still in pursuit of a World Series title amidst an exceptional period
Matt Snyder
Raleigh experienced a noteworthy season, becoming the first individual aside from Judge and Ohtani to receive a first-place AL MVP vote since José Abreu’s victory in 2020. His tally of 60 home runs establishes new single-season records for a catcher, a switch-hitter, and a Seattle Mariner. Raleigh is distinguished as one of only seven players to have reached a 60-homer season.
In total, Raleigh achieved a .247/.359/.589 batting line, topping the AL with 125 RBI, and also leading in games started as catcher (119) and innings caught (1,072). FanGraphs WAR, incorporating catcher framing metrics, assesses Raleigh as a 9.1 WAR player for 2025, ranking him third among all players behind Judge (10.1) and Ohtani (9.4). In nearly any other year, Raleigh would have likely been awarded the AL MVP without much contest.
Ramírez has consistently been a strong contender, securing a place in the top five of MVP voting on six occasions; nonetheless, he has yet to seize the award. His season was remarkable once again, posting a .283/.360/.503 line accompanied by 30 home runs and 44 stolen bases. Notably, this marked Ramírez’s second consecutive and third overall 30-30 season. His 5.8 WAR positioned him sixth among AL position players.
The voting process for the BBWAA’s awards (including Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP) occurs before the postseason commencement. These accolades are solely based on regular-season performance.
