Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh are mired in a riveting race for this year’s American League MVP award. Boston Red Sox fans may not like Alex Cora’s assessment of the competition.
Cora decisively backed the New York Yankees superstar during an interview on MLB Network’s “Hot Stove.”
“Cal was great. Judge is the MVP,” Cora declared.
Judge nearly replicated last year’s MVP campaign, posting a whopping 1.144 OPS after registering a 1.159 OPS in 2024. He hit .331, well ahead of runners-up Bo Bichette and Jacob Wilson at .311, with 53 home runs.
“Going into the season, not too many people thought that he was going to put another monster year because (Juan) Soto signed with the Mets,” Cora said of Judge. “It was the other way around. He carried that club early in the season. Offensively, defensively, running the bases. The leader.
Story continues below advertisement
“I mean, this is a guy that’s hitting 40-50 home runs and leading the league in batting average. When people are hitting .230, .240, and that’s kind of like average. So, for me, Aaron is the MVP.”
Judge may win his third MVP in the last four seasons, but it won’t be unanimous for the second straight year.
Raleigh gives the Yankees outfielder much steeper competition this time. The Seattle Mariners catcher set a single-season record at his typically light-hitting position by blasting an MLB-best 60 home runs.
Story continues below advertisement
Seattle captured its first AL West title since 2001 behind Raleigh, who collected 121 RBIs, a .948 OPS, and MLB’s second-best fWAR (9.1) after Judge (10.1).
Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez is also an AL MVP finalist after another elite year, but the award is likely a two-man race between Judge and Raleigh. The winner will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 13.