Before the playoffs get going, let’s get this out of the way: Aaron Judge is the American League Most Valuable Player.
Co-signing and confirming the statement above - Yes, I believe Aaron Judge should be awarded the MVP award.
But what about Cal Raleigh? He’s a catcher?!!
More on that in a bit…
My reasoning for Judge is very simple and very straightforward. I’m also removing my Yankee fandom from this assessment.
Yeah, sure. Whatever, Yankee boy!
Aaron Judge leads in all of the important categories that hold the most weight in baseball.
The most important being fWAR, which accounts for defensive (and if needed, pitching) value.
Aaron Judge leads ALL of baseball with a 10+ fWAR, which is extremely rare.
For me, that is enough (and historically, the trend usually supports this). But if you’re not a fWAR person - or one of those “analytics ruined the game” folks - there’s more…
In a world where so many baseball romantics get angry about the diminishing value of batting average, Aaron Judge not only won the batting title (by alot!), but he is the only player in history to do so while hitting 50+ home runs. You guessed it - the most home runs for a batting champion, ever.
Before analytics took over, we would've thrown Judge into the Hall of Fame just on that, alone.
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| Dropping some Yankees propaganda |
Judge also just broke the record for intentional walks in the AL and leads OBP and OPS statlines by a significant margin. Bottom line: Judge is being walked religiously, and when he isn’t, he’s always on base, likely by means of slugging.
Judge’s historic season is the most insane thing I've (and you, too!) seen since Barry Bonds.
While Cal Raleigh is no slouch - because all we do is choose sides and we can’t have nuance in today’s society - I'll show some and admit, he wins the MVP if Judge doesn’t exist. And he’s deserving of it. That feeling and fact can be true in this process.
He also has one of the best nicknames in all of sports - The Big Dumper. Love it. Just saying...
Unfortunately, he’s just stuck behind an absolute monster. The way so many NBA superstars were in the 90s, with a man named Michael Jordan. A switch-hitting catcher who dropped 60 bombs is the kind of thing only seen in MLB The Show.
Ultimately, what we have is the narrative and underdog-like story of Cal Raleigh attempting to compete with Judge’s facts.
I’m in agreement - catcher is the most demanding position in baseball. It’s also one of the most underrated positions in all of sports. It doesn't get enough love.
If we try to tie those intangibles to MVP races the way we are in this one, what we get is what we see in the NFL - MVPs primarily being quarterbacks. Why not just give it to the best catcher every year? Because whatever race there is, we can apply this catcher qualifier.
Great season for a left fielder, but did you catch? Did you handle a pitching staff?
Also, did we not just give the MVP to Shohei Ohtani last year (and likely again this year) for primarily contributing offensively at DH?
I’m just trying to make it make sense. Why does defense matter some years, and others it doesn’t?
And if we want to do the numbers for defense, Judge again clears Raleigh in defensive runs saved. Fact.
Bro, enough with these ridiculous stats!
Ultimately, what I am saying is that Judge is that much of a beast. It’s a shame that we have to acknowledge voter fatigue. But it's real.
He's already lost one MVP Award to Jose Altuve in 2017, where so much of the narrative revolved around Altuve's "size and heart "narrative. I'm hoping facts and the eye test prevail on this one.
Yes, Yankee marketing team - I love it. And it's very true.
You be the Judge.