Making Sense Of Why The Al Mvp Vote Was So Close

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 9:08 AM

making sense of why the al mvp vote was so close

NEW YORK —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... 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 percentage, 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 percentage 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 RBIs 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... 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 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 American League MVP race between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh was one of the closest in recent memory, and its outcome showed how uncertain baseball still is about what “value” really means. Judge’s elite metrics secured the trophy, but the debate around Raleigh’s record-breaking season made it clear that voters remain divided between raw production and total contribution. Judge’s third MVP award came by a margin of just 20 points, earning 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13. Two more flipped ballots would have resulted in a tie.

The conversation wasn’t about who was more talented, but about how baseball defines value in an era that can measure almost everything. Judge’s case was built on dominant production. He led baseball with a .331 average, a .457 on-base percentage, and a .688 slugging mark. He hit 53 home runs and posted a 9.7 WAR, placing him just ahead of Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani. His 204 OPS+ ranked among the best in modern history, matching the kind of efficiency Barry Bonds produced during his peak seasons. Those numbers carried the vote.

Many saw Judge’s consistency and command of the strike zone as enough to outweigh positional factors. His performance met every definition of “most productive,” which for many voters still means “most valuable.” Raleigh became the first catcher in MLB history to reach 60 home runs, breaking single-season records for both his position and for switch-hitters. He caught 1,072 innings and did not allow a passed ball, while leading the Mariners to their first ALCS since 2001. His 9.1 WAR ranked third in baseball, right behind Judge and Ohtani. 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...

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: 1. Actual value of a player to his team, that is, strength of offense and defense. 3. General character, disposition, loyalty and effort.

Making Sense Of Why The Al Mvp Vote Was So Close

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