Aaron Judge-Cal Raleigh MVP vote had an incredibly slim margin

Aaron Judge might have won this season’s American League MVP award — but his competition was within arm’s reach.

Judge beat out Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh by just four first-place votes, the closest MVP race in any league since 2019, when Angels outfielder Mike Trout won over Astros third baseman Alex Bregman by the same margin.

Before that, the next closest AL MVP race came when Justin Morneau of the Twins bested Derek Jeter in 2006, with the first baseman getting 15 first-place votes to Jeter’s 12.

Raleigh had one of the best offensive seasons for a catcher in recent history, hitting a MLB-leading 60 home runs, along with 125 RBIs and a .948 OPS.

The 28-year-old also helped lead the Mariners to their first ALCS appearance in 24 seasons, ultimately losing to the Blue Jays in seven games.

Despite Raleigh’s efforts, it was simply not enough to dethrone Judge, who now becomes the fourth Yankee to win back-to-back MVP awards, and the first since Roger Maris did so following the 1960-61 seasons.

“When we play Seattle, the main objective is to make sure Cal [Raleigh] doesn’t beat you,” Judge said while accepting the 2025 AL MVP award on Thursday.

Judge is also now in rare company as just the 13th player to win at least three MVP awards throughout their career, joining Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle, who also accomplished the feat.

Alex Rodriguez has also won three MVP awards, but his first came when he was a member of the Rangers in 2003.

Along with the MVP, Judge also won the first batting title of his career, leading the majors with a .331 average.

“It’s pretty wild,” Judge said regarding the batting title. “You try not to think about it during the season. I try to keep my head down through all 162 and do whatever I can in today’s game to help our team win. You do what you can, give it your all, and you wake up the next day and do it again.”