Aaron Judge Edges Cal Raleigh in Tight AL MVP Race, Despite Historic Season from Mariners Catcher
The 2025 American League MVP race came down to a photo finish-and while Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh delivered a season for the ages, it was Yankees slugger Aaron Judge who ultimately took home the hardware.
Judge claimed his second consecutive AL MVP and the third of his career on Thursday, narrowly outpacing Raleigh in one of the closest votes we’ve seen in years. Of the 30 ballots submitted by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Judge received 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13-a razor-thin margin that echoes the 2019 showdown between Mike Trout and Alex Bregman, which also ended 17-13 in first-place votes.
Let’s be clear: Cal Raleigh didn’t just have a good year-he had a historically great one. The Mariners backstop launched 60 home runs, drove in 125 runs, and crossed the plate 110 times.
That home run total? It’s the most ever by a catcher in a single MLB season.
Not Johnny Bench. Not Mike Piazza.
Not even Roy Campanella. Raleigh now sits alone atop that list, and he did it while anchoring a Mariners team that pushed all the way to Game 7 of the ALCS.
But in the end, Judge’s all-around dominance was just a touch too much to ignore. His 9.7 bWAR and eye-popping 1.144 OPS were the kind of numbers that command MVP recognition. While Raleigh was rewriting the record books for catchers, Judge was putting together the kind of season that defines an era-again.
This wasn’t a case of one player running away with the vote. It was a legitimate debate, a clash of two elite performers who each carried their teams deep into October.
Raleigh’s power surge was the heartbeat of Seattle’s offense, a constant threat that pitchers couldn’t solve all year. Judge, meanwhile, continued to be the engine of New York’s lineup, doing everything from slugging to getting on base at a historic clip.
Had Raleigh won, he would’ve become just the 13th catcher in MLB history to earn MVP honors-and the first since Buster Posey in 2012. That’s rare air.
Catchers don’t typically put up these kinds of numbers, let alone sustain them over a full season while handling the physical toll of the position. What Raleigh did in 2025 isn’t just impressive-it’s transformative.
As for the rest of the MVP field, Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. was among the top five vote-getters, rounding out a group that represents the next generation of AL talent.
In the end, it was Judge who took home the trophy, but Raleigh’s season won’t be forgotten anytime soon. He may not have the MVP title next to his name this year, but he’s firmly established himself as one of the most dangerous hitters-and most valuable players-in the game.
