Yankees' Aaron Judge Facing Closest MVP Race in 75 years

The New York Yankees superstar is no lock for MVP.

Jul 20, 2025; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs after hitting a home run against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge is having another MVP-caliber season for the New York Yankees. But he might not have any hardware to show for it.

The right fielder leads the majors with a .352 batting average entering play Monday. But Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh leads MLB with 38 home runs. Raleigh also leads the American League in RBIs (83) with Judge a close second (82).

"While Raleigh leads MLB with 38 homers, just 10 shy of the most homers by a catcher in an entire season, Judge has a 1.187 OPS with a shot to become baseball’s first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012," USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted Sunday.

"But if Raleigh breaks Judge’s AL record of 62 home runs, and leads the Mariners into the playoffs, all bets are off. This could be the closest AL MVP race involving a Yankee player since Joe DiMaggio beat Ted Williams by a single vote in 1947," Nightengale added.

The 1947 AL MVP race was a doozy. Williams won the Triple Crown, leading the American League in home runs (32), RBIs (114) and batting average (.343).

The Boston Red Sox left fielder also led the majors in walks (162), on-base percentage (.499) and OPS (1.133).

And then there's this: Williams led MLB with a 9.5 WAR. But DiMaggio earned MVP honors despite a WAR of just 4.7.

The 1947 season was actually the second time Williams won the Triple Crown but wasn't named MVP.

It also happened in 1942 with Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon earning MVP honors even though Williams led the majors in runs (141), home runs (36), RBIs (137), walks (145), on-base percentage (.499), slugging percentage (.648), OPS (1.147) and WAR (10.5).

Is Judge doomed to suffer a similar fate? It all depends on how he and Raleigh perform during the stretch run. The right fielder is going for his third MVP award in four years. The only other players to win three MVPs in pinstripes are Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

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