Aaron Judge vs. Cal Raleigh: American League MVP Race
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2025 AL MVP Race: Judge vs. Raleigh
The Contenders
the American League MVP race is a compelling battle between two exceptional sluggers: Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh.Judge has consistently demonstrated overall offensive dominance, while Raleigh is achieving historically significant numbers for a catcher.
The final two weeks of the 2025 season will be crucial in determining the award winner. Here’s a detailed look at where each player stands as they approach the end of the campaign.
Aaron Judge
Judge has recently been rewriting the New york Yankees’ franchise record books for career home runs. He surpassed Yogi Berra (358) and Joe DiMaggio (361) too claim the third-place position, trailing only Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig - a testament to his exceptional talent.
Berra, DiMaggio, and Mantle each secured three MVP awards. Judge has the opportunity to equal their achievement by winning this season, adding to his previous victories in 2022 and 2024.
By most statistical measures, Judge has been the most productive hitter in baseball this year. He currently leads MLB in the traditional triple-slash categories with a .323 batting average, .444 on-base percentage, and .673 slugging percentage. He also leads in WAR (Baseball-Reference version) with 7.9, walks (106), and runs scored (120).
Despite his outstanding performance, some critics point to slight regressions from his previous peak seasons. His 205 OPS+ signifies a 105% better offensive output than the league average, but this is lower than the 225 OPS+ he achieved last season. While he has 47 home runs with 15 games remaining, he is unlikely to match his previous totals of 62 home runs (2022) or 58 (2024).
His defensive contributions have been comparatively limited this season.
Cal Raleigh
Details about Cal Raleigh’s performance will be added here.This section will include his statistics, impact on the Seattle Mariners, and arguments for his MVP candidacy. A comparison to ancient catcher MVP seasons will be included.
Statistical Comparison
| Statistic | Aaron Judge (2025) | Cal Raleigh (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Batting Average | .323 |
|
