New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge is now officially a finalist for the 2025 AL MVP Award, and for good reason. He gave another incredible performance in the regular season, and is widely hailed as the best slugger in the MLB. But it won’t be enough to win him the AL award.

Judge was named alongside Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who is considered his closest competition for the award, and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez. Raleigh has the more unique story, as he is a phenomenal catcher and led the Mariners to their first division win since 2001. His nickname — Big Dumper, in reference to his large butt — created a cult fandom for Raleigh who led the league in home runs in 2025 (with 60).

Judge’s accomplishments this season were summarized by MLB in the announcement that he is a finalist, and they speak for themselves.

“After winning AL MVP honors in 2022 and ’24, Judge delivered another outstanding season in ’25,” MLB wrote. “The Yankees slugger topped the 50-homer mark (53) for the fourth time in his career, led the AL in runs (137) and walks (124) and was the Major League leader in all three slash stats (.331/.457/.688). He also topped MLB in both the Baseball-Reference (9.7) and FanGraphs (10.1) versions of WAR, helping the Yankees earn a Wild Card berth.”

Oct 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) takes the field to play against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Judge’s late-season elbow injury was enough to make Yankee fans fear for the team’s fall potential, which speaks to Judge’s load-bearing role in the lineup. Without their star slugger (however briefly), it looked like the Yankees might not even make the postseason. Though in the end they didn’t make it as far as the Mariners, the Mariners obviously didn’t make it as far as the Los Angeles Dodgers, either.

Raleigh is More Likely

While Judge is a two-time MVP, and continues to rack up records year after year, he is still missing a championship ring to show for his nine seasons in pinstripes. Raleigh is also, but the Mariners made it farther than they ever have before, and Raleigh was a crucial piece of that step forward. Still, the Mariners have never won a World Series since the beginning of their franchise, back in 1977.

Raleigh’s story as a catcher is very likely enough to win him the AL MVP vote, because the award isn’t based on any particular stat, and the narrative behind Raleigh is more interesting than the one around Judge. Judge’s two previous wins place him at a disadvantage here; Judge may deserve the win, but Raleigh and the Mariners are the underdogs, and frankly, it’s more fun when they win.

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