Outfielder Aaron Judge adds another MVP Award to Yankees’ collection

Courtesy New York Yankees

Yankees’ outfielder Aaron Judge picked up 28 of 30 votes on his way to winning the American League MVP Award.

This marks the 21st time that a Yankees player has been honored, the most MVP Awards overall for one club in BBWAA voting dating to 1931. The St. Louis Cardinals are second with 18, the most in the National League. Judge joins three-time winners Joe DiMaggio (1939, 1941, 1947), Yogi Berra (1951, 1954-55) and Mickey Mantle (1956-57, 1962); two-time winners Roger Maris (1960-61) and Alex Rodriguez (2005, 2007) as well as Lou Gehrig (1936), Joe Gordon (1942), Spud Chandler (1943), Phil Rizzuto (1950), Elston Howard (1963), Thurman Munson (1976) and Don Mattingly (1985).

Judge is the 12th former American League Rookie of the Year Award winner (2017) to go on to win an MVP Award, including Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001), the only players to win both awards in the same season. There have been 18 NL Rookie of the Year winners who also were MVPs. Included in those lists are two players who won the awards in alternate leagues: Frank Robinson (NL Rookie of the Year in 1956, AL MVP in 1966) and Dick Allen (NL Rookie of the Year in 1964, AL MVP in 1972). Others to win both awards in the AL were Munson, Rod Carew, Cal Ripken Jr., José Canseco, Dustin Pedroia, Justin Verlander, Mike Trout, Jose Abreu and Shohei Ohtani.

Although he has been a right fielder most of his career, Judge played more games and innings in center field (78 and 632 ?) than right field (73 and 491 ?) in 2022, which makes this the 13th victory for a center fielder in the AL. He joins three-time winners DiMaggio, Mantle and Trout along with Lynn, Robin Yount (1989) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1997). Yount was a shortstop when he won his first MVP Award in 1982. His team, the Brewers, moved to the NL in 1998. A center fielder has won the award in the NL six times – twice apiece by Willie Mays (1954, 1965) and Dale Murphy (1982-83) and once each by Willie McGee (1985) and Andrew McCutchen (2013). 

This election marked the ninth time in AL MVP voting that the previous year’s winner finished as the runner-up. Ohtani, who won the award last year, is now on a list that includes DiMaggio (1948), Berra (1956), Mattingly (1986), Jimmie Foxx (1939), Hal Newhouser (1946), Ted Williams (1947), Jason Giambi ( 2001) and Trout (2015).There have also been nine such cases in the NL: Albert Pujols (2006 and 2010), Chuck Klein (1933), Dizzy Dean (1935), Stan Musial (1949), Barry Bonds (1991), Terry Pendleton (1992), Ryan Braun (2012) and Christian Yelich (2019). 

At 6-foot-7, Judge is the tallest MVP winner ever in either league. The previous tallest MVP was his Yankees teammate, 6-foot-6 Giancarlo Stanton, the NL winner with the Marlins in 2017. The previous tallest winners in the AL were 6-foot-5 Frank Thomas (1993-94), Joe Mauer (2009) and Justin Verlander (2011). NL winners who were also 6-foot-5: Dave Parker (1978), Kris Bryant (2016) and Freddie Freeman (2020). 

Judge, Ohtani and Yordan Alvarez were listed on every ballot.

Ballots, submitted before the postseason, were cast by two writers in each league city. They are tabulated on a system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.

2022 AL MVP

1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10thPoints
Aaron Judge, Yankees282410
Shohei Ohtani, Angels228280
Yordan Alvarez, Astros228232
José Ramírez, Guardians6115421186
Jose Altuve, Astros6943321142
Andrés Giménez, Guardians23576411141
Julio Rodríguez, Mariners1367623108
Mike Trout, Angels44465290
Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox12227550
Justin Verlander, Astros21153244
Bo Bichette, Blue Jays23216
Adley Rutschman, Orioles111314
Luis Arraez, Twins11112
Rafael Devers, Red Sox11310
Kyle Tucker, Astros1138
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays117
José Abreu, White Sox15
Alek Manoah, Blue Jays135
Alex Bregman, Astros14
Yandy Díaz, Rays12
Framber Valdez, Astros12
Sean Murphy, Athletics11
Dylan Cease, White Sox11

View individual ballots on a separate page.