From Bryan Hoch:
There were some who wondered if we might ever see a better Aaron Judge season than his terrific and memorable 2022 MVP campaign, during which he eclipsed Roger Maris’ 61-year-old single-season American League home run record while seemingly singlehandedly powering his Yankees into the postseason.
Then came the captain’s impressive 2024 performance. Instead of grainy black-and-white replays of Maris’ home runs, there was crystal-clear high-definition video of Judge and teammate Juan Soto — arguably the league’s most lethal one-two offensive punch in recent memory — performing their “Kings of New York” handshake at home plate.
Many of Judge’s Major League-leading 58 homers led to cries of “M-V-P!” from adoring crowds, both home and road. That manifested on Thursday, when Judge won his second BBWAA American League Most Valuable Player Award, as announced on MLB Network.
Judge received all 30 first-place votes, with the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (30 second-place votes) finishing ahead of Soto. Judge is the sixth Yankee to win multiple MVP Awards, joining Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Maris and Alex Rodriguez.
It’s always amazing to watch a guy basically build his Hall of Fame case in front of your eyes. Hopefully we see TWO guys do it next season with Juan Soto returning (I guess technically if Stanton hits enough home runs to get to 500, we’ll be watching THREE guys build their Hall of Fame cases).
Congrats to Judge!
Judge joins Mickey Mantle (1956) as the only Yankees players to win MVP unanimously.
MLB to test robot balls-strikes calls in spring training 2025. Manfred wants it ready for the 2026 MLB season
I’m torn. It’s so mind-bendingly needed, but so hard to imagine thinking anything good of Manfred.
Manfred has said some very stupid things and definitely bears a lot of responsibility for the lockout, but in general, I think he’s been pushing for a lot of positive changes in baseball overall.
Not everything he’s been part of has been good (automatic baserunner in extras), but I think the net is positive. He’s been part of the push towards better officiating. He’s been a big driver behind the push to handle blackouts.
Oof. Hard disagree on Manfred. But I also think roboumps is a godawful idea that’ll ultimately make the game less entertaining, much the way replay has.
Sic, who are you disagreeing with on Manfred?
I’m sure it’s just a BS rumor, but someone suggested the Yankees might be interested in Josh Naylor. God, I certainly hope not.
Congratulations to Judge. Probably the most amazing stretch of right-handed hitting in history.
Imagine if the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium had been better constructed! (Also because he plays some great defense when not being extra-cautious).
In other MVP News
Kirschner: Tigers relief pitcher Tyler Holton gets to have MVP-16 on his Baseball Reference page for the rest of his life. He received one 10th-place vote.
What’s funny is the voter did not have Skubal on his ballot.
Good news, Hal says the Yankees defense and fundamentals are sound
Sound and fury signifying nothing.
Hardly a serious denial. MLB needs to be all over this.
https://x.com/TheAthleticMLB/status/1859595384471146778
Huh? The Yankees reached agreement with center fielder Trent Grisham on a $5MM salary, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN (on X). The deal contains another $250K in incentives. The two-time Gold Glove winner had been projected at $5.7MM. Grisham had an underwhelming .190/.290/.385 showing during his first season in the Bronx. The Yankees will nevertheless keep him around for his final year of arbitration, presumably in a fourth outfield capacity.
They couldn’t find a cheaper replacement to not hit?
Very strange. I totally get the idea of keeping him on a cheaper deal, but just $700,000 less?!
Yankees and Walker Buehler have mutual interest. So odd.
Reds traded India to the Royals for Brady Singer. I guess the Yankees couldn’t match a Singer offer, that’s a pretty good return.