The New York Yankees slugger was crowned AL MVP on Thursday night, beating out Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels and Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros. He is the first Yankees player to win the award since Mickey Mantle in 1962. Judge received 28 first-place votes and 410 points, beating Ohtani (280) by 130 points. Ohtani was the only other player to receive first-place votes, with two. Alvarez had 232 points to finish third. Player, Team 1st2nd3rd4th5thTotalAaron Judge, Yankees282410Shohei Ohtani, Angels228280Yordan Alvarez, Astros228232Jose Ramirez, Guardians6115186Jose Altuve, Astros691452American Base,Astros691452Gu,Andreas69142Gu Judge led the AL in a number of offensive categories, including home runs (62), RBIs (131), slugging percentage (.686), on-base percentage (.425), OPS+ (211) and total bases (391). He previously finished as AL MVP runner-up in 2017, when he was the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. Became just the fourth major leaguer to hit more than 62 homers in a single season, joining Barry Bonds (73 in 2001), Mark McGwire (70 in 1998, 65 in 1999) and Sammy Sosa (66 in 1998, 63 in 1999) . . He fell just five points (.311) to Minnesota Twins shortstop Luis Arraez for the batting title, which would have completed the Triple Crown. The MVP honor caps a season that began with turmoil surrounding contract negotiations with the Yankees as he entered the final year of his deal. The judge set a self-imposed deadline on Opening Day to negotiate a possible extension, but the sides were unable to reach an agreement. Then Yankees general manager Brian Cashman took the unusual step of publicly revealing the terms of the contract the team offered Judge — an eight-year, $230.5 million extension. Judge declined the offer, expecting more if he hits the free agent market after this season. 2 Related The season got off to a relatively slow start for Judge, hitting six homers in 75 at-bats in April. But once the calendar turned to May, Judge took off. The Yankees outfielder hit 12 homers that month, 11 in June, 13 in July, nine in August and 10 in September before hitting No. 62 on the final day of the regular season in October. Judge’s 157 games played during 2022 were the most since his rookie season, his previous career best by bWAR (8.1). Judge’s month-to-month consistency served as the backbone for a New York offense that at times struggled to stay healthy and produce around him. By the end of the season, he ranked second behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in baseball, scoring 807 runs. As Judge approached Roger Maris’ AL record of 61 homers, each of his at-bats became an event. In games both at Yankee Stadium and on the road, fans rose to their feet whenever he entered the batter’s box and remained standing for every pitch. Yankees members rushed to find spots on the top step to watch their teammate make history. Judge hit a record 61st home run on Sept. 28, driving Tim Mayza of the Toronto Blue Jays deep into the seventh inning in game No. 155 for the Yankees. The history-making homer ended a seven-game home run. No. 62 didn’t come until Oct. 4, the Yankees’ second-to-last game of the season. The game-tying home run came off Texas Rangers pitcher Jesus Tinoco with a shot to left field. While Judge put together a regular season for the record books, he hit his worst season as the Yankees played the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series and the Astros in the AL Championship Series. In nine games, Judge hit .139/.184/.306 with two homers among five hits in nine games. The future World Series champion Astros finished the Yankees’ season with a four-game sweep of the ALCS. Judge is now hitting the free agent market poised to land one of the biggest contracts of the offseason. Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner has publicly stated that he wants Judge to be in pinstripes for the rest of his career.
