ESPN: The New York Yankees make new Juan Soto offers, as Aaron Judge wins MVP.
Walker Buehler comfortably struck out Alex Verdugo just before midnight on October 30, thus ending the season. The New York Yankees were three wins away from capturing their first World Series since 2009, and the season was immediately viewed as a disaster.
Although the pain is still there, this week served as a reminder that the season was successful in terms of winning the World Series and brought back fond memories of standout performances throughout the 94-win regular season.
Aaron Judge, who was unanimously selected as the AL MVP on Thursday after a spectacular power show, may have been the best way to signify it. He won the award for the second time in three seasons.
Judge broke Roger Maris’ AL record with 62 home runs, earning him the honor. Sixty-one years after Maris hit Boston’s Tracy Stallard in the lower right field bleachers to finish with seven more than Babe Ruth in 1927, he symbolically shattered the milestone.
Judge had MVP seasons when the Yankees lost and he did not perform well in the postseason, particularly in 2022, but Ruth and Maris set those marks during championship seasons.
Judge finished with 58 points in his second MVP season, but he was on track to surpass his own record for a while. On August 24, he hit his 50th and his 51st in the same game, but a career-worst 16-game homerless slump ended any possibility of his reaching 62.
Judge’s overall performance outperformed his 2022 season, albeit coming just short of his personal record.
Judge was a.322 hitter who added.458 on base,.701 slugging, and 1.159 OPS to his best career average. His 223 OPS+ was significantly higher than the league norm (100 is the average). While occasionally receiving the Barry Bonds treatment late in the season, he also achieved a career-high 133 walks and recorded 144 RBIs, 13 more than 2022.
“Man, I’m going to try to catch up to you in these MVPs here,” Judge said in an interview with MLB Network, referring to the two-time MVP Bryce Harper, with whom he had been speaking frequently this season. “Winning another means a lot.” Just a lot of effort during the season, the off-season, and the ups and downs. All I needed to get here was the unwavering support of my teammates, the New York fans, and everyone else.
Juan Soto, who frequently watched from the on-deck circle while the Yankees’ regular second and third place batters combined for 99 home runs, was one of “everyone.”
He remarked, “Observing the pitches.” We are all aware that this man will be on base at least half the time. Just the caliber of each and every at-bat. Whether he went up there and struck out or flew out made no difference. It will take ten to twelve pitches to get it past Juan Soto if you want to strike him out. It’s amazing. I can see how the pitcher is feeling today, what pitches are working, whether he’s attempting to use his wipeout slider or the two-seamer. Thus, it just helped me visualize what to anticipate when I enter the box.
