Aaron Judge wins third MVP to earn rare spot in Yankees history

Aaron Judge added another chapter to his Yankee legacy Thursday, becoming just the fourth player in franchise history to win a third American League MVP with the franchise.

He joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle on the list after another season in which he dominated opposing teams, despite playing through a flexor strain in his right elbow for much of the second half of the year.

And unlike the previous two years Judge won the award — in 2022 and last season — there was more drama involved this time around, as Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh was seen as a legitimate contender following his 60-homer season, setting the record for a catcher, as well as a switch-hitter.

But it still wasn’t enough to unseat Judge in the BBWAA voting.

Judge won the first batting title of his career (hitting a career-best .331) and also topped the majors in on-base percentage (.457), slugging percentage (.688) and OPS (1.144) by a wide margin.

About the only category Judge didn’t dominate was homers, although he still managed to top 50 homers for the fourth time, despite missing 10 games with the elbow injury. And he’s only the third player in MLB history to win a batting title while also hitting 50 home runs.

“It’s almost like we take it for granted because he only hit 50-something homers and not 60,’’ Paul Goldschmidt said after the Yankees were knocked out of the ALDS by the Blue Jays last month. 

Judge, the first Yankee to win back-to-back MVP awards since Roger Maris did it in 1960-61, is also the first player to win consecutive AL MVP awards since Miguel Cabrera did it with Detroit in 2012-13, although Shohei Ohtani won the 2023 AL MVP with the Angels and the NL MVP a year ago as a Dodger. 

This time, he bested Raleigh, who hit just .247 — which would have been the lowest ever for a non-pitcher MVP — but the 28-year-old catcher led the AL with 125 RBIs and helped Seattle win the AL West and reach the ALCS for the first time since 2001.

Judge’s latest milestone comes after a season in which he passed DiMaggio, Berra and Alex Rodriguez for fourth on the franchise home run list with 368. Next up on the list is Lou Gehrig at 493.

He may have been on his way to his finest season before Judge suffered the elbow injury in late July.

Judge’s production dropped after he returned from his IL stint and he was forced into a DH role for the next month, but he ended up putting up some of his best numbers of the season in September.

The only thing that’s really slowed Judge down — and perhaps prevented him from winning four straight MVPs — was the toe injury that occurred when he ran into the fence at Dodger Stadium in June 2023.

As it is, he shook off the loss of Juan Soto’s presence in the lineup after Soto’s free agent departure to the Mets and put up his typically gaudy stats in the third year of his nine-year, $360 million contract.

With Cody Bellinger a free agent this offseason, Judge may be looking for help in the lineup from another different face, but as he proved again, if he stays healthy, he’ll be a force.