Why Yankees' Aaron Judge won AL MVP over Mariners' Cal Raleigh

Billy Heyen

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Why Yankees' Aaron Judge won AL MVP over Mariners' Cal Raleigh image

This ended up being one of the most intriguing MVP races in recent history.

In one corner was New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who has a case as the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. He showed off that hitting prowess all year long.

Judge led all of baseball in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), slugging average (.688) and OPS (1.144). He had the top Wins Above Replacement number in the American League at 9.7.

In the other corner was the Big Dumper, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. The switch-hitting catcher had a season unlike any other.

Raleigh hit 60 home runs, breaking the record for home runs in a single season by a catcher, switch-hitter and a Mariner.

In the end, the voters chose Judge for MVP, not Raleigh.

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Why did Aaron Judge win AL MVP over Cal Raleigh?

In the end, Judge won based on the numbers that go beyond home runs.

Judge outdid Raleigh in OPS considerably, which is a be-all statistic for the overall hitting season a player had.

Judge's OPS was the aforementioned 1.144, compared to Raleigh's.948. That's a substantial difference.

Raleigh's supporters would point to his defense behind the plate. But even factoring that in, Judge won the WAR battle with Raleigh, 9.7 to 7.4.

Judge had a historically great hitting season overall. In a year when only one other player in the league even hit.300, Judge hit.331.

He's the most prolific power hitter on the planet, when viewing extra-base hits as a whole, having outslugged Raleigh. And he led the league in average, too, the best hitter by that measure.

In the end, Raleigh's record-setting season has to settle for second, and Judge is the MVP yet again.

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