Aaron Judge’s Yankees Importance Fades as MLB Veteran Reveals Cal Raleigh’s Struggles After Historic Feat

Right now, most of the major awards seem locked up. Tarik Skubal will probably take home the Cy Young; Nick Kurtz looks like a near lock for the Rookie of the Year award. Plus, Aroldis Chapman feels like he might be in for the Mariano Rivera Award. But what about the MVP? Well, that’s where the entire drama lies, because it has become a rather fascinating debate.

Aaron Judge is on one end of the puzzle, and he knows this script all too well. Back in 2022, he had edged Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP by hitting 62 home runs. He overshadowed Ohtani’s dual threat and won over the eyes of the BBWAA. Now, three years later, call it fate or whatever, the Yankee captain finds himself on the other side of the equation. He is still dominant in the Bronx, but is facing an underdog with numbers that no one can ignore.

The underdog is no one other than Cal Raleigh, the Mariners catcher. But make no mistake, he is doing stuff that no catcher usually does. And on Tuesday night in Kansas City, Raleigh smashed his 55th and 56th homers! He passed Micky Mantle’s 1961 record for switch hitters and tied with Ken Griffey Jr’s franchise mark. This is a huge feat, and when you are a catcher and do this, it is not impressive; it is astounding. And this game might have changed the perspective of the MVP race and who should win it.

Former MLB catcher A.J. Pierzynski in Foul Territory voted for Raleigh, and not without reason. For him, Cal Raleigh has more challenges than Judge: “I think that Cal Raleigh, with his home run, is going to set the all-time home run record for switch hitters. He’s already got the all-time catcher home run record. He plays every day. He plays in Seattle, a place that’s not great to hit. As you guys have mentioned, he has to travel so much more than everybody else. I just think it’s a special year, a historic year, and he should be the guy that wins it because they’re going to go to the postseason, and he catches and he plays every day.” And he is not wrong.

Raleigh is moreover not just smashing home runs; he is carrying the team. Seattle Mariners, after a rather long time, are in the position they are thanks to him. They wouldn’t be here without Big Dumper launching bombs every other night. Plus, the 28-year-old has already passed Salvador Perez for the most home runs in a single season by a catcher. Now he is the only player in history to hit 20 or more from each side of the plate in one year. It is not just a rare feat–it is history in the making.

We also cannot discount that he is doing this while handling the toughest job in the field. Behind the plate, too, he ranks in the 87th percentile in framing skills and 81st in framing run value according to Savant. He just seems to be doing everything right, while also remaining grounded, and never has Cal Raleigh come out as a brute. Infact, after his historic night in Kansas, he went to highlight his errors! But the question is – does Raleigh have enough edge over Judge? Because the Yankee captain is also making a huge noise, no matter what others say.

Is Cal Raleigh’s historic season enough to dethrone Aaron Judge?

There is no doubt that most people love an underdog story—and that is why you’d see many rooting for Cal Raleigh. And to his credit, he is doing more than justify why he deserves it. But that doesn’t mean that Aaron Judge and what he is doing for the Yankees is any less. In fact, when you stack Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge’s numbers side by side, then the Yankee captain’s number comes out on top in most areas.

Aaron Judge is leading all of baseball in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS—you name it, and he is the king. Also, he is eight homers away from Raleigh, and even then, his overall WAR is higher. Raleigh, although he shines on defense, ranks among the best backstops in the AL. He has also logged more games than Judge this season. But even then, there is one stat that holds Raleigh back.

The issue is Raleigh’s .246 batting average. If he wins, it would be the lowest average ever for a position player MVP. History for sure is on his side, but Judge’s all-around dominance makes him a threat that’s not easy to simply unsee. Plus, it’s not just the on-the-field heroics that make Judge have an upper hand. Recently, Mookie Betts was asked who he thinks has more chances, and while some have even gone around to troll Judge on live TV, Betts gave a fitting reply. Betts highlighted exactly what Judge is to the Yankees and why he may have that upper hand. 

So here we are—it’s either going to be an underdog taking over or the superstar redefining what consistency is. Who do you think it will be?