New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge capped off his historic 2022 campaign on Thursday when he won the AL MVP award, receiving 28 of 30 possible first-place votes. Judge is the first Yankees player to win the award since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
At one point it seemed like a two-horse race between Judge and reigning MVP Shontei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels. While Ohtani had another impressive season, Judge’s historic slugging numbers were too much for the voters down the stretch. Not only did Judge record 62 home runs this season -- breaking Roger Maris’s 61-year AL record -- but he nearly won a triple crown in the process.
Judge ultimately finished with 410 points, followed by Ohtani in a distant second with two first-place votes and 280 points, while Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros came in third with 232 points.
The 30-year-old Judge is the 13th Yankees player to win the award, joining an exclusive club featuring the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and of course, Maris. These 13 players have combined for 23 MVP seasons, the most of any team in either league.
Followed closely behind the Yankees, however, is the St. Louis Cardinals who just picked up their 21st MVP award behind the heroics of Paul Goldschmidt. The 35-year-old put up career-best batting numbers this season and made a triple crown run of his own as he finished top-5 in each of the three batting categories.
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This concludes a week of MLB awards that began on Monday with Michael Harris II of the Atlanta Braves and Julio Rodriguez of the Seattle Mariners being named the Jackie Robinson Rookies of the Year. Guardians' Terry Francona and the Mets' Buck Showalter were named Managers of the Year, while Justin Verlander and Sandy Alcantara won the Cy Young Awards, given to the best pitcher in each league. The full list of MLB awards is available here.
