Al Mvp Is Not A Narrative Award Which Is Why Yankees Aaron Judge

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 6:00 AM

al mvp is not a narrative award which is why yankees aaron judge

When you see an MVP article come out and you see it’s from a Yankees‘ outlet, of course you’re going to immediately think there is bias. I’ll admit that this article is coming from a Yankees fan, but I can assure you, my argument and feeling on the matter is purely about production versus narrative and story. Production and narrative is really what is driving the AL MVP conversation at the moment. I can already hear Cal Raleigh supporters screaming and Mariners fans crying foul with someone stating that Cal Raleigh’s MVP case isn’t predominantly production-based. Yes, Cal Raleigh plays catcher for the AL West winning Seattle Mariners. Yes, the Mariners just won the division title for the first time since 2001.

Yes, Cal Raleigh leads the majors in home runs with 60 becoming just the 7th player in history to reach the 60 homer mark. Yet, despite those facts, the ones arguing for Raleigh in the MVP conversation are focusing on their feelings and perception of the award more than the on-field production. The feeling that you cannot measure the value of a catcher. The feeling that Raleigh deserves the MVP because this is something out of the ordinary whereas the Yankees’ Aaron Judge is just producing like he should be. New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is now officially a finalist for the 2025 AL MVP Award, and for good reason. He gave another incredible performance in the regular season, and is widely hailed as the best slugger in the MLB.

But it won't be enough to win him the AL award. Your 2025 @officialBBWAA AL Most Valuable Player Award finalists:Aaron JudgeCal RaleighJosé Ramírez pic.twitter.com/UyWkwFktH5 Judge was named alongside Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who is considered his closest competition for the award, and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. Raleigh has the more unique story, as he is a phenomenal catcher and led the Mariners to their first division win since 2001. His nickname — Big Dumper, in reference to his large butt — created a cult fandom for Raleigh who led the league in home runs in 2025 (with 60). Judge's accomplishments this season were summarized by MLB in the announcement that he is a finalist, and they speak for themselves.

"After winning AL MVP honors in 2022 and ’24, Judge delivered another outstanding season in ’25," MLB wrote. "The Yankees slugger topped the 50-homer mark (53) for the fourth time in his career, led the AL in runs (137) and walks (124) and was the Major League leader in all three slash... He also topped MLB in both the Baseball-Reference (9.7) and FanGraphs (10.1) versions of WAR, helping the Yankees earn a Wild Card berth." For the third time in the last four years, New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is the American League MVP winner, with the BBWAA wrapping up award week by announcing the MVPs on Thursday... It was another brilliant season for the hulking slugger, but unlike last year when he won the award unanimously, there was a legitimate challenger this time around in Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Both players had a compelling case, and while Judge ultimately finished on top, it was one of the closest votes in recent memory:

Before we dive into why Big Dumper should have been the 2025 AL MVP, let's first lay out the case for Judge to provide some context. .css-1582m2i{margin:0;font:inherit;font-weight:700;}The Case for Aaron Judge This ended up being one of the most intriguing MVP races in recent history. In one corner was New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who has a case as the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. He showed off that hitting prowess all year long. Judge led all of baseball in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), slugging average (.688) and OPS (1.144).

He had the top Wins Above Replacement number in the American League at 9.7. In the other corner was the Big Dumper, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. The switch-hitting catcher had a season unlike any other. Raleigh hit 60 home runs, breaking the record for home runs in a single season by a catcher, switch-hitter and a Mariner. Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh had historic seasons, but only one could win the AL MVP. Steph Chambers / Getty Images

By Tyler Kepner, Chandler Rome, Britt Ghiroli and Zack Meisel Plenty has changed about baseball. Little has changed about how voters are supposed to determine the league’s Most Valuable Player. From the official guidance given by the BBWAA: There is no clear-cut definition of what Most Valuable means. It is up to the individual voter to decide who was the Most Valuable Player in each league to his team.

The MVP need not come from a division winner or other playoff qualifier. The rules of the voting remain the same as they were written on the first ballot in 1931: The innate beauty of the Baseball Writers Association’s Most Valuable Player award — which sets it apart in terms of prestige from all the other sports awards — is that to this day, some... For instance, if it was simply the player of the year, with the best overall statistics, then why didn’t the BBWAA simply name it that? After all, especially with all the advanced metrics introduced to the game over the last 20 years, it’s a whole lot easier task for the Baseball Writers to dismiss the word ‘valuable’ from the... On the other hand, although there is no documentation for this, I suspect by naming the award “most valuable” the writers wanted to put the emphasis on “team” and “winning” rather than individual performance.

Indeed, in the 95-year history of the award, 128 of 191 winners — 67% — have come from teams that finished first. Which brings us now to Aaron Judge’s narrow (355-335) win over Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh for the American League MVP. There was no question that Judge, who led the league in batting (.331 to Raleigh’s .247), runs (137 to 110), on-base pct., slugging, OPS (1.144 to .948) and total bases, was the American League... He had another season for the ages. His 53 homers were the most ever by a batting champion and he became the first player since the expansion era (1961) to lead the majors in batting, on-base pct., and slugging in the... Here was where that ultimate intangible “most valuable” came into play.

It’s been many, many years since I was an MVP voter, but when I was I tried to determine the player most valuable to his team’s winning and I automatically looked first to the... For example, I always felt Andre Dawson, winning the 1987 NL MVP for a Cubs team that finished last was a bit of a joke. After all, how valuable could he be for a team that finished last? Granted, Dawson did lead the NL in homers and RBI that season, but the reason he won was because the 95-win NL East champion Cardinals had multiple MVP candidates and the writers split their... Aaron Judge keeps adding to his legacy. The New York Yankees outfielder was named the American League MVP on Thursday after an incredible 2025 season.

Already a two-time MVP winner, having taken home the award in 2022 and 2024, Judge posted another spectacular year in 2025. He finished the season at the top of the AL leaderboard in most hitting stats, including batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.456), slugging percentage (.688), total bases (372), runs (137) and all three major... There were two notable exceptions, however: home runs and RBI. Those titles went to Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, whom Judge beat out for MVP honors in one of the closest MVP votes in years after a run of unanimous or near-unanimous voting in... Judge captured 17 of the 30 total votes, with Raleigh taking the other 13. No other player received a first- or second-place vote.

Stripping away fandoms and narratives, the race came down to what a person values. Judge had a significant advantage in overall offensive stats (the distance between his and Raleigh's OPS was the same as the distance between Raleigh's OPS and the 39th-best OPS in the AL), while Raleigh... Updated on: November 14, 2025 / 12:19 AM EST / CBS/AP In the American League, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees' fourth three-time Most Valuable Player winner, edging Seattle's Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout topped Houston's Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019. Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees.

The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers. When asked about his place in MLB and Yankees lore, Judge acknowledged he's in rare company.

Al Mvp Is Not A Narrative Award Which Is Why Yankees Aaron Judge

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