By Jack Stewart
As the 2025 MLB season comes to a close, two frontrunners for the American League MVP have emerged. On one hand is Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, and on the other is Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Judge has been a superstar for nearly a decade, tallying unbelievable home run totals and making five straight All-Star Games, arguably being the biggest name in baseball this decade. Raleigh, on the contrary, has been a good, yet underrated catcher for a few years whose breakout 2025 campaign has become one of the greatest seasons by a catcher of all time. While both players have had undeniably incredible seasons, their near-equal levels of excellence have led to one of the most heated MVP debates in recent history.
The case for Aaron Judge to win MVP is far clearer and is mainly backed by his statistical prowess. As of writing this, Judge has 7.6 WAR, or wins above replacement, which means he’s contributed to 7.6 more wins than your typical MLB player. This trumps Raleigh, who’s only posted a WAR of 5.7. On top of that, he’s currently batting .321, has an OBP of .442, and an OPS+ of 203. In addition to this, Judge’s importance to the Yankees cannot be understated. Besides Judge, the Yankees don’t have another batter hitting over .280, and during late July when Judge was injured, the Yankees collectively batted only .239 and had an OPS of .706. The argument for Judge seems very simple: he’s statistically excellent and valuable for the team, making him seem like a shoe-in; yet nobody has had a season quite like Cal Raleigh.
Cal Raleigh is an anomaly; what he’s doing at the catcher position and for the Seattle Mariners is unprecedented and has genuinely never been seen before. As of now, Raleigh has hit a league-high 53 home runs, which surpassed legendary Japanese player Katsuya Nomura’s record of 52 home runs, leaving Raleigh alone as the catcher with the most home runs in a single season ever. Raleigh is going beyond breaking MLB records to records held across professional baseball leagues across all countries. His home run total has also beat out Judge’s 44, and Raleigh’s 113 RBIs has bested Judge’s 98. Defensively, Raleigh has posted a higher fielding percentage while also playing a much harder position. The argument for Raleigh is something you can’t really determine from a stat sheet; it’s much more about feel and practical importance. It’s no secret that catcher is the hardest position in all of baseball; it’s immensely demanding both physically and mentally, and this is what is at the core of Raleigh’s case. He is putting up generational offensive numbers at the catcher position while also being a Platinum Glove-level defender, something unprecedented in the modern MLB. He’s doing this while elevating a mediocre Mariner’s offense into a playoff contender, all while playing every single game so far this season. That level of endurance while maintaining consistent excellence makes a strong case for Raleigh, despite not having the better statistics.
The debate over the American League MVP reflects the current state of baseball perfectly. It embodies arguments of stats vs. feel and how players should be valued both individually and in the context of their teams. Both players are having incredible seasons, and while Judge and Raleigh deserve their flowers, only one can be crowned MVP. As the season finishes up, the race should become even closer with Judge and Raleigh finalizing their resumes for the most prestigious individual award in baseball.