NEW YORK – All Rise!!
Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge had a season for the ages in 2025, and he was rewarded for his hard work Thursday night by being named the American League Most Valuable Player. It marked the third time he has won the award in the last four years.
Aaron Judge Wins Third AL MVP Award
It was a close vote. Judge, who ended up with 355 points, received 17 of 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh finished second and ended up with the remaining 13 first-place votes and 335 points. Guardians third baseman José Ramírez finished third with 224 points.
For Judge, he added to his legacy by joining Yankee legends Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle to win three MVP awards.
“I’m just happy to be in their company,” Judge said. “It’s pretty amazing to see the guys who have won the three MVPs with the Yankees. It’s mind boggling. I’m chasing ghosts. It’s incredible what these guys accomplished during their career in New York City. I’m humbled and blessed to be in this position. When I signed back with the Yankees in ‘23, I wanted to finish the job and bring back a World Series. We are still on that mission. Climbing up on this list with these greats, it’s such an honor.”
What made ‘25 so special? Judge led Major League Baseball in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), slugging (.688), on-base plus slugging (1.144), intentional walks (36) and Wins Above Replacement WAR (9.7, according to Baseball Reference).
Aaron Judge Joins an Exclusive Club
Judge became only the third player in Major League history to hit at least 50 homers and win a batting title in the same season, joining Mantle (1956) and Jimmie Foxx (1938). The 53 homers that Judge hit were the most by any player who has won a batting title. At 6-7, Judge is the tallest player to ever win a batting title.
“It’s mind blowing from my side of things because I play this game to win, for my teammates, my family and all the fans in New York. I just want to go out and give my best every single day.” Judge said. “I look up after the season and you are trying to win a championship, but when you come up short, you sit back and look at the season. … When you are nine or 10 years into the season, you have to pinch yourself every single day. It’s truly an incredible honor. God put me in an amazing position. There were a lot of amazing people in my life who helped me get into this position. That’s for sure.”
Judge acknowledged that his game in the batter’s box has changed since he won his first MVP in 2022.
“The biggest thing for me was that I wanted to hit for a higher average. I wanted to get on base more. I feel if I get on base more, I could score more runs which would be more wins for the Yankees,” Judge said. “Over the years, you get more at-bats and you get put in more situations. You fail a lot more. When you fail, you learn a lot more. Over the course from 2022 to now, there were a lot of good moments, but there were a lot of failures. It will help you learn fairly quickly what works and what doesn’t work. The biggest thing I have is just experience.”
Judge is the best player in the American League, but he would trade all his trophies and All-Star appearances for a World Series ring.
“We have quite a few years left. Hopefully, this next year will be the year. That’s my main focus. That’s why I wake up everyday and try to become a better player. I feel like if we don’t finish the job, I’ll look internal. I look to see how I can improve and put our team in a better position. We’ll keep faith in that.”
