AL MVP Race: Judge, Judge, Judge
Has it already been decided? Aaron Judge as American League MVP?
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Aaron Judge has been tearing up MLB pitchers all season long while helping to lead the Yankees to a healthy first place spot in the division at just under 30 games above .500. Baseball is often considered the greatest team game of all, and Judge has been putting that theory to test since the All-Star break.
As a team, the Yankees have a losing record of 20-28 since the break with most of their offense struggling. Judge has been forced to pick up the slack and carry the entire team on his back by hitting .340 during this span while the rest of the team has a combined .207 batting average. In the second half of the season, Judge has crushed 21 home runs while the rest of the team has collected only 32.
But it’s not just his own team that Judge is singlehandedly showing up, he is at the top of the American League Leaderboard for overall and offensive WAR (wins above replacement). With playoffs just around the corner, Aaron Judge is trying to put the finishing touches on this season by leading his team on a playoff run. But he is also chasing a personal goal by going after Roger Maris’ franchise record of 61 home runs. With Judge sitting at 55 homers and three weeks left in the regular season, it is definitely within reach.
Judge has been on a revenge tour this season and since 2017 when he lost the MVP trophy to Jose Altuve. While not only improving on his outstanding hitting numbers, Judge has also taken over the Yankees center field position and has been playing at a gold glove caliber level out there. This has provided Yankees manager Aaron Boone the flexibility he has been chasing after all season, by being able to bat successfully in spot one through four in the lineup.
Judge continues to contribute in other ways offensively with 16 stolen bases, which is second on the team, and leads the American League with 87 walks, all while leading the Yankees in games played this season as well. We are witnessing one of the greatest players of all time right in front of our own eyes, and doing this while stopping his own team from imploding on itself. Aaron Judge has got my unanimous MVP vote.