Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Coach Shuts Down Aaron Judge MVP Debate

A New York Yankees coach made his thoughts on Aaron Judge's AL MVP chances crystal clear.
Jack Markowski|
Sep 15, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs to first base after drawing a walk against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images
Sep 15, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs to first base after drawing a walk against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

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With the AL MVP debate between Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh raging on as the regular season nears its conclusion, New York Yankees bench coach and former big-leaguer Brad Ausmus didn't mince words when it comes to his thought on the race between the two stars.

“I understand, as a former catcher, Cal Raleigh is having an unbelievable year as a catcher,” Ausmus said during an appearance on MLB Network Radio. “[He's] certainly deserving of MVP votes, but I actually don’t think it’s close. I saw, and you may have seen it, a tweet a few days ago that said if you subtracted 180 OPS points from Aaron Judge, he’d be Cal Raleigh. And if you subtracted 180 points from Cal Raleigh, he’d be an average major league player.

”So, I don’t think it’s close. I think when you really look into the numbers, Judge, he’s got him, and [Raleigh] has had a phenomenal year ... He just happens to be playing in a year where Aaron Judge has been phenomenal.”

It's no surprise that Ausmus is siding with Judge amidst one of the closer MVP races in recent memory considering they share a dugout. For all intents and purposes, however, the Yankees' captain has outperformed Raleigh by a rather wide margin offensively.

While Raleigh leads all of MLB in homers with 56, which is also an all-time league record for both catchers and switch-hitters, Judge ranks No. 1 among all qualified players in batting average (.327), on-base percentage (.452) and slugging percentage (.673) in addition to having 48 home runs and 104 RBIs.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge
Sep 11, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) warms up wearing an NYPD cap before a game against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Judge's OPS is currently sitting at 1.125, which is nearly 200 points higher than Raleigh's mark of .943, as Ausmus alluded to.

The main argument for Raleigh in this case is the fact that he plays perhaps the most physically-demanding position in the sport and done so successfully while also turning in an elite season as a hitter.

While that reasoning is fair and Raleigh may very well win MVP as a result, it's hard to ignore just how dominant Judge has been all season long.

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Jack Markowski
JACK MARKOWSKI

Jack is a New Jersey native who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a Media & Professional Communications major in 2024 who is now covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Yankees for On SI.

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