Aaron Judge might have won this season’s American League MVP award — but his competition was within arms reach.
Aaron Judge might have won this season’s American League MVP award — but his competition was within arm’s reach.
Judge beat out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh by just four first-place votes, the closest MVP race in any league since 2019, when Angels outfielder Mike Trout won over Astros third baseman Alex Bregman by the same margin.
Before that, the next closest AL MVP race came when Justin Morneau of the Twins bested Derek Jeter in 2006, with the first baseman getting 15 first-place votes to Jeter’s 12.
Raleigh had one of the best offensive seasons for a catcher in recent history, hitting a MLB-leading 60 home runs, along with 125 RBIs and a .
