Aaron Judge has done it again.
The New York Yankees outfielder won his third career American League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday, edging out Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez.
Judge, 33, previously won MVP in 2022 and 2024. He’s just the fourth player to win the award at least three times for the Yankees — joining Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle — and the first to do it in a four-year span. Judge joins Berra and Mantle as the only Yankees to win consecutive MVPs.
While Judge’s counting numbers were down from his previous two MVP runs, he still put together a monster season. The Yankees captain hit a career-best .331 with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs — leading the AL in runs scored, walks, batting average, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging, total bases and intentional walks.
Raleigh was Judge’s closest competition this season, leading the AL with 60 home runs and 125 RBIs. The Mariners star hit just .247 though, not getting on base nearly as much as Judge.
Judge received 17 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes to Raleigh’s 13 first-place votes and 17 second-place votes, giving Judge a 355-335 victory in total points.
While it was another season of accolades for Judge, he still seeks his first World Series for the historic franchise. Judge and the Yankees lost to the eventual AL champion Toronto Blue Jays in the Division Series. New York’s other three-time MVPs, albeit in a different era, won seven (Mantle), nine (DiMaggio) and 10 (Berra) World Series rings.
Aside from the three MVPs, Judge has now racked up seven All-Stars, five Silver Sluggers, two Hank Aaron Awards and a batting title in his 10 years with the Yankees (2016-25).
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