MVP Debate Heating Up for Yankees Superstar

New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge still appears to be the AL MVP favorite, but the case for Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh is getting a lot of heat following his impactful 60th home run of the season. With three games left in the regular season, Raleigh doesn't seem likely to take it all, but he is getting well-earned flowers for an astonishing season of baseball.

Sep 20, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) takes a swing during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Judge leads the league with superhuman batting statistics, running away with the accolade on most numbers, but some journalists and commentators insist that what Raleigh is doing as a catcher is worth taking into consideration. Raleigh still leads the league with 60 home runs, and the Mariners are took their division for the first time since 2001, a feat in which Raleigh has played no small role. It is possible that Raleigh could overtake Judge's AL record for most home runs in a season.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post, who has championed the Raleigh angle from New York, insists that Raleigh deserves the award for reasons that go beyond the numbers.

"Judge is having MLB’s best overall offensive season, and his 1.136 OPS easily tops Raleigh’s .959," Heyman wrote. "And Fangraphs’ WAR, which tries a little better to judge catchers, has Judge with a 9.6 WAR to 9.1 for Raleigh."

"But something to consider is how valuable a big-hitting catcher is. Yogi Berra won a record 10 World Series as a player (and three MVPs), and he never came close to leading in any rate stats or WAR. Same with Roy Campanella. Fairly, voters gave catchers extra consideration back then, but in the analytics era we have absurdly unfair defensive metrics to keep catchers down."

Sep 24, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) acknowledges the crowd after hitting his 60th home run of the season during the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Fans on Twitter are duking it out to the bitter end in a practice that often results in cruelty to both players, neither of whom are particularly gunning for the award themselves. Each player is just trying to play good baseball, and the position Raleigh finds himself in is an odd one. He's been pitted against the best player in baseball, and has drawn the ire of a fiercely loyal fanbase and nerds who love numbers. According to MLB insider Jeff Passan, the MLB still leans in Judge's favor.

Judge has been intentionally walked more than any other player in American League history, with 36 intentional walks this season. Judge has spent this season shattering records yet again, and will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. This year will go down in history for the Big Dumper and the Mariners, however, and Raleigh richly deserves the fanfare he's receiving for being a one-of-a-kind talent.

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