How Did Aaron Judge Win The Al Mvp Over Cal Raleigh A Deeper Look Into

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 3:56 AM

how did aaron judge win the al mvp over cal raleigh a deeper look into

November 14, 2025, 2:23am EST 116 • By Swati Bhatia The 2025 MLB awards season came to an exciting finish on Thursday night with the announcement of the American League and National League MVP winners. While last year’s AL MVP race was a one-sided affair with Aaron Judge winning unanimously, this year’s contest was far closer. In the end, the New York Yankees captain edged out Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh to secure his second straight MVP honor, taking home 17 first-place votes compared to Raleigh’s 13. Aaron Judge is MVP again!It’s back-to-back AL MVPs for The Captain! pic.twitter.com/HzqA96V6Ni

Both players delivered incredible seasons that will be remembered for years to come. Aaron Judge continued his dominance at the plate, while Raleigh made history with a record-breaking hitting. Raleigh crushed 60 home runs, setting both a Mariners record and a new single-season record for an MLB catcher. He also drove in 125 RBIs while anchoring Seattle’s pitching staff and helping the team stay in the playoff hunt until the final week. Aaron Judge, meanwhile, hit .331 with 53 homers, 114 RBIs, and a 1.144 OPS, putting together another monster campaign despite missing seven games due to an elbow injury in late July. Shohei Ohtani's fourth MVP award was announced Thursday, but the race was effectively decided in September or even earlier.

The same can't be said for the American League's edition of the award. New York Yankees star Aaron Judge had to sweat out the vote totals all the way until Thursday's announcement, when he narrowly won his third AL MVP award over Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Ohtani and Judge became the first pair of players to win back-to-back MVP awards together, earning the award in 2024 and 2025. Here's a closer look at the vote totals in both the AL and NL. MORE: Full list of winners, finalists for 2025 MLB Awards In the most anticipated award race of the 2025 season, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh finished second in voting for the 2025 American League MVP award Thursday, falling to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.

Raleigh's historic season for the Mariners, which helped the club reach Game 7 of the ALCS, wasn’t enough to earn him the prestigious award over Judge, who took home his second straight AL MVP... Of the 30 ballots submitted by the BBWAA, Judge received 17 votes for first place—barely eking out Raleigh, who took home 13 first-place votes. It was the closest vote for MVP in either league since Angels star Mike Trout received 17 first-place votes to win the 2019 AL MVP over Astros slugger Alex Bregman (13 votes). Here’s a closer look at the voting for the top-five 2025 AL MVP finishers: Raleigh led the American League with 60 home runs and 125 RBIs; he also scored 110 runs on the season for Seattle. No catcher in MLB history has hit more homers in a single season than Raleigh, but Judge’s otherworldly bWAR (9.7) and OPS (1.144) was too much for Raleigh to overcome in the eyes of...

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 The 2025 American League MVP race was flat-out wild.

Two extraordinary but totally different players — Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh — went head-to-head and gave us one of the most intense MVP debates in recent memory. What does “most valuable” even mean? Is it about record-breaking offense, or does it include the grind of defense, leadership, and playing tough positions? This year, baseball writers couldn’t agree, and honestly, that made the whole thing way more interesting. When it was all said and done, Aaron Judge took home the award. He racked up 17 first-place votes and finished with 355 points.

Cal Raleigh had a strong showing too, pulling in 13 first-place votes. He came up just short, but the tight vote really says a lot about how split everyone felt. Most years, there’s one guy with the gaudy stats who runs away with it. Not in 2025. 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. With Aaron Judge’s average sitting above .400 on May 20, Kyle Higashioka stood in Yankee Stadium’s visiting clubhouse and eagerly accepted an invitation to praise his former teammate. “It’s just the continual drive to be better every year,” the Rangers catcher said when asked what about Judge impresses him the most.

“A lot of people would be very content with having some of the seasons he had a few years ago and just staying at that level. But I think he’s gotten better every single year since then. That’s just a testament to the character he has.” Judge’s continued strides at the plate resulted in another spectacular season, as he finished the 2025 campaign with 53 home runs, 114 RBI, a .331 average — making the 6-7 slugger the tallest batting... The performance, briefly interrupted by a flexor strain, served as a remarkable follow-up to his 2024 season, the greatest ever by a right-handed hitter, and earned Judge his second straight American League MVP Award... “Aaron has been playing in rarified air for much of his career.

His devotion to his craft, his continuous pursuit of excellence, and the importance he places on being a teammate who can be counted on help define his legacy just as much as his three... “He is a once-in-a-generation player who embodies so much of what is good about our game. Aaron is being celebrated again tonight, and rightfully so. He has blossomed into one of sports’ greatest superstars.” Aaron Boone issued a statement of his own, saying, in part, that “it’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to use words to capture how good [Judge] is.” Cal Raleigh has won the first hardware battle.

The Mariners catcher won the Baseball Digest/Inside Edge major league player of the year award on Friday, beating out Yankees slugger Aaron Judge as the two await their AL MVP fate. Raleigh won 12 of 24 first-place votes and garnered 56 points from a panel of writers, broadcasters, executives, managers and former players, with Judge — last year’s winner — getting eight first-place votes and... Both players are preparing for the American League Division Series beginning this weekend on the heels of historic regular season campaigns. Raleigh became the seventh player to hit 60 home runs, demolishing the mark for catchers and switch-hitters, leading the AL with 125 RBIs to guide Seattle to the AL West title and the No. 2 seed.

How Did Aaron Judge Win The Al Mvp Over Cal Raleigh A Deeper Look Into

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