Aaron Judge wins third MVP, joins select Yankees company after edging Mariners' Cal Raleigh

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Nov 13, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — With Aaron Judge’s average sitting above .400 on May 20, Kyle Higashioka stood in Yankee Stadium’s visiting clubhouse and eagerly accepted an invitation to praise his former teammate.

“It’s just the continual drive to be better every year,” the Rangers catcher said when asked what about Judge impresses him the most. “A lot of people would be very content with having some of the seasons he had a few years ago and just staying at that level. But I think he’s gotten better every single year since then. That’s just a testament to the character he has.”

Judge’s continued strides at the plate resulted in another spectacular season, as he finished the 2025 campaign with 53 home runs, 114 RBIs, a .331 average — making the 6-7 slugger the tallest batting champ ever — a 1.144 OPS, 10.1 fWAR and a 204 wRC+. The performance, briefly interrupted by a flexor strain, served as a remarkable follow-up to his 2024 season, the greatest ever by a right-handed hitter, and earned Judge his second consecutive American League MVP Award and third overall.

That honor became official Thursday night, as Judge defeated Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, as well as Guardians third baseman José Ramírez, for the coveted award.

“To me, he’s the clear-cut MVP,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Judge in late September, though the switch-hitting Raleigh served as fierce competition.

The backstop led all of baseball with 60 home runs, drove in a league-high 125 RBIs and provided stellar defense at the game’s most demanding — and time-consuming — position while Seattle captured its first AL West title since 2001. But as captivating as Raleigh was in 2025, his .247 average, .948 OPS, 9.1 fWAR and 161 wRC+ all trailed Judge’s marks by significant margins as the Yankees’ captain helped his wild-card club tie for the AL’s best record.

The Baseball Writers’ Association of America ultimately acknowledged the gap, as Judge took home 17 first-place MVP votes. Raleigh received 13 first-place votes.

“He’s a complete hitter,” Judge said of Raleigh in July. “Hits the ball all over the park. Being able to be a switch-hitter and have both your swings on like that, it’s impressive.”

“He is an amazing player. What he is doing out there is crazy. He is one of the best to ever do it,” Raleigh added of Judge around the same time. “He is a special player. Me being in that sentence, I’m just grateful to be in there. He is a really good one.”

With Raleigh thwarted, Judge is now the fourth player to win three MVP Awards with the Yankees. He joins a trio of Hall of Famers and Monument Park icons: Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio.

Those legends all have something Judge is missing, though. That would be multiple championships.

Judge is still searching for his first, though he delivered a strong postseason this year after previously struggling in the playoffs. Following his star-studded regular season, he hit an even .500 while adding a 1.273 slugging percentage, seven RBIs and a dramatic home run in Game 3 of the ALDS.

With the Blue Jays winning that series, however, another year of Judge’s prime went by without a ring. With Judge turning 34 in April, it’s fair to wonder how many peak seasons he has left, and if the Yankees will capitalize on them with a championship before they run out.

“I don’t look at it as we have to maximize this or that,” Brian Cashman said earlier this offseason when asked if the eventual end of Judge’s prime is something to consider when crafting the 2026 roster. “I feel like we’re trying to put the best team we can on a year in, year out basis all the time, and that involves older players and younger players in the mix.”

Fortunately for the Yankees, Judge has yet to show any signs that a slow-down is imminent. The two-year MVP run that he’s been on has been one for the ages, as he leads all of baseball in average (.326), OBP (.457), slugging (.695), OPS (1.152), home runs (111), RBIs (258), wRC+ (212) and fWAR (21.5) since the start of 2024.

Judge is also first or second in all of those categories since 2022, the year that he reset the American League single-season home run record with 62 home runs and won his first MVP.

“He’s an unbelievable player and means everything to this club and this clubhouse and this organization,” said Paul Goldschmidt, who won the NL’s MVP Award in 2022. “It’s not an accident, the success he’s had. He’s an extremely hard worker and extremely smart player. He goes out there and competes. Just does an unbelievable job. He plays great defense. He helps the guys in this room.

“I could go on and on, but he’s basically the total package.”