ESPN: Yankees’ Favorite Star Wins American League MVP Award
Judge, who has won MVP twice in the last three seasons, was the clear winner.
Let’s all applaud the MVP.
For the second time in his career, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees was named the American League Most Valuable Player on Thursday.
Judge, who also took home the prize in 2022, defeated fellow candidates Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals and Juan Soto of the Yankees to win the honor unanimously.
Judge had just finished a season in which he set a new AL single-season record with 62 home runs when he was last selected MVP. He was able to surpass that campaign with his 2024 performance.
Judge’s career high was reached.322 and had 144 RBIs, the most in a single season since 2008, and led the league with 58 home runs, making him the fifth player in MLB history to smash 50 or more in three different seasons. In addition, he led the league in slugging percentage (.701), walks (133), and on-base percentage (.458).
The 32-year-old helped the Yankees reach the World Series for the first time in his nine-year career and guided them to the best record in the American League (94-68).
Judge only hit.184 with three home runs and nine RBIs over 14 games in the playoffs, unable to duplicate his regular season domination.
Judge was the obvious choice for the MVP award, which was decided by Baseball Writers’ Association of America members based on regular-season performance.
Judge scored 420 points overall, including all 30 of the first-place votes. With 270 points and 30 votes for second place, Witt Jr. came in second. With 21 votes for third place and 229 points, Soto came in third.
After being acquired from the San Diego Padres in an offseason trade, Soto had his first and possibly only season with the Yankees. He slashed.288/.419/.569, hit 41 home missiles, drove in 109 runs, and scored an AL-high 128 runs. He achieved career highs in home runs, hits (166), and runs scored.
By dominating the American League with a hitting average of.332, Witt Jr., who guided the Royals from a 106-loss team to a postseason contender, kept Judge from taking home the Triple Crown. The 24-year-old helped the Royals secure their first postseason spot since 2015 by hitting 32 home runs and 109 RBIs.
