60 home runs or .331 batting average? Huge breakout season or a leader in 20+ categories? Catcher or Center Fielder? Big dumper or All rise? If you are relevant in the baseball world, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge for MVP? Let me break it down.
This has been one of the closest MVP races since Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio battled it out in 1941, both also having historical seasons. Williams batted .406 the last person to ever hit over .400 in a season, but DiMaggio had a 56 game hit streak, one of the most unbeatable records in all of baseball. We have something similar here with Raleigh and Judge.
“MVP means like helping the team all around, like in every category” said Ryder Miller (‘27), a fan of the Seattle Mariners. “I think it should be Cal Raleigh, he helps on the field and hitting as well” Said Miller.
Cal Raleigh has had the best season of his life, batting .247 with a .359 OBS and a .589 Slug% the highest of his career. Obviously, everyone knows about the 60 home runs, which not only shattered the positional record by over 15, he also broke the most home runs hit by a switch hitter beating out the likes of Mickey Mantle, a Hall of famer and widely considered one of the best ball players of all time.
“I think he’s one of the best players (Raleigh)” said Miller. “He has 60 home runs and he’s the first catcher to ever do it,” Miller said.
Not only is this just all around a hard accomplishment to do, Raleigh is a catcher, which is one of, if not the hardest position to play on the field. Enduring nine straight innings of squatting down, watching runners, calling pitches, blocking baseballs, etc. There’s a reason the majority of catchers, even the greats, can only play around 10-12 years because of the wear and tear it has on your body.
“…Aaron Judge, he has better, higher stats in other categories. But he’s not a position player. Which is why I think it should be Cal Raleigh” said Miller.
So the fact that Raleigh was able to accomplish these feats, and playing behind the dish is absolutely unheard of. Not to mention taking his team to their sixth playoff appearance in franchise history and helping them win their first AL West championship since 2001.
“I mean without (Aaron Judge), the Yankees would have fallen apart” said Clayton Jenkins (‘27) an advent Yankees fan. “When he got hurt close to the deadline, they considered selling (the season) at the deadline. That’s how important he is to New York”
Aaron Judge, the common face we have all seen over the past couple of years. Why? Because he is one of the best players in all of baseball.
“He literally won the batting title with 53 home runs, I mean without him the Yankees probably would have fallen apart,” Jenkins said.
9.7 War, .331 Avg. (Which in our time of baseball, is not very common thanks to the style of hitting now). A .457 OBP, .688 Slug%, and 1.144 OPS. He leads baseball in all those categories, including more. Not only is he hitting like this now, he’s been doing this year after year for quite some time now. Cementing himself as one of baseball’s best. Leading in that many categories and playing the way he is consistently puts him in the talks for MVP, and one other thing he has ahead of Raleigh is the fact that the MVP award can’t and won’t be positionally based.
“I think it’s amazing (Cal Raleigh) has broken so many records. I just feel like Judge is the better player in the grand scheme of things” said Jenkins.
It never has and never will, and that’s the hard truth. So in some ways statistically, Aaron Judge is having one of the best hitting seasons in baseball history. He as well has brought his team to the playoffs, hoping to find himself once again in the grandest stage in baseball.
Now, I can ramble on more about stats and who deserves what, but I’m going to leave it at this.
It’s hard to not want to root for Raleigh. A catcher who has dominated the long ball at both sides of the plate, winning the home run derby, and on a team who has never been to the World series.
But in some cases it’s hard not to see why Judge won’t win it? Leading in multiple hitting categories, becoming one of the most feared hitters in baseball today, and solidifying a great career, especially if he adds another MVP to his trophy case.
But even when Ted Williams batted .406/.553/.735 he didn’t win MVP. It went to the man who stood out to the people and fans of baseball, getting a hit in 56 straight baseball games. So my question to you is who is this year’s MVP? Cal Raleigh or Aaron Judge?
