NEW YORK — All rise for the MVP.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees was named American League Most Valuable Player Thursday for the second time in his career.
Judge, who also won the award in 2022, was the unanimous winner, beating out finalists Juan Soto of the Yankees and Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.
When Judge was last named MVP, he was coming off a season in which he set a new American League single-season record with 62 home runs. He managed to top that campaign with his overall performance in 2024.
Judge hit a career-best .322 and led the league with 58 home runs, becoming the fifth player in MLB history to hit 50-plus home runs in three different seasons, and had a career-high 144 RBIs. of any player in a single season since 2008. He also led the league in walks (133), on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.701).
The 32-year-old led the Yankees to the American League’s highest record at 94-68 and helped them advance to the World Series for the first time in his nine-year career.
Judge was unable to replicate his regular season dominance in the playoffs, hitting just .184 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 14 games.
The Most Valuable Player award, however, was voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America based on regular-season success, a measure by which Judge was the clear choice.
Judge received all 30 first-place votes for a total of 420 points. Witt Jr. was second place, with 30 second-place votes for 270 points. Soto was third with 21 third-place votes for 229 points.
Soto, in his first and perhaps only season with the Yankees after being acquired in an off-season trade with the San Diego Padres, batted .288/.419/.569, hit 41 home runs, drove in 109 runs and scored 128 runs, the best mark in the American League. He set career highs in hits (166), runs scored and home runs.
Witt Jr., who led the Royals’ transformation from a 106-loss team to a postseason contender, prevented Judge from winning the Triple Crown by leading the American League with a .332 batting average. The 24-year-old hit 32 home runs and 109 RBIs while helping the Royals secure their first postseason berth since 2015.
Judge was the second winner of the week’s award for the Yankees, following Luis Gil, who was named American League Rookie of the Year on Monday.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani won the National League MVP after a historic season of his own.
