Jorge CastilloNov 13, 2025, 07:54 PM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
Aaron Judge narrowly beats Cal Raleigh to win AL MVP (1:53)Aaron Judge wins American League MVP by a mere 20 votes over Seattle’s Cal Raleigh. (1:53)
On Thursday, voters narrowly chose Judge, who continued to cement his place among baseball’s all-time greats by becoming the 13th player to win three or more MVPs. He joins Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees to have accomplished the feat.
The vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America was one of the closest in years. Judge received 17 of the 30 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes. Raleigh received the other 13 first-place votes while finishing second on the other 17 ballots.
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez finished third, and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was fourth.
“They had two incredible seasons,” Judge told MLB Network. “It’s always fun playing against those two, especially when we play Seattle. The main objective is, ‘Make sure Cal doesn’t beat you.'”
He followed that with another sublime campaign in 2025, though it was interrupted for two weeks on the injured list because of a flexor strain in his right elbow.
“I know I say this often when meeting with our media throughout the season, but I don’t ever want to become desensitized by the consistency and the enormity of his accomplishments,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to use words to capture how good he is. He’s just playing at a higher level, and has been for quite some time.”
“It’s a lot of responsibility playing in New York, but that’s what I love,” Judge told MLB Network. “When I was a free agent, I came back to New York. I wanted to play in the city, play for these fans, play with these high expectations.”
But still missing from Judge’s résumé is a World Series title as the Yankees’ title drought stretched to 16 years in 2025. For now, Judge is the greatest Yankee without a World Series championship.
The Raleigh vs. Judge debate was the hottest contested MVP argument in over a decade, as both sluggers put together historic seasons.
Aaron Judge narrowly beats Cal Raleigh to win AL MVP (1:53)Aaron Judge wins American League MVP by a mere 20 votes over Seattle’s Cal Raleigh. (1:53)
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
If two writers had switched their votes, it would have been a tie.
Judge, humble as always, was quick to congratulate Raleigh and Ramirez.
Judge arguably had the best season of his career in 2025.
Judge could have left the Yankees a couple of years ago but re-signed as a free agent.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield contributed to this report.
Aaron Judge wins American League MVP by a mere 20 votes over Seattle’s Cal Raleigh. (1:53)