Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees was named the unanimous AL MVP on Thursday night.
It’s his second MVP in three years, and it was a deserving honor after posting the best season ever by a right-handed hitter.
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals came in second, and Juan Soto of the Yankees was third.
Gunnar Henderson finished fourth in the race, and Cleveland Guardians star third baseman Jose Ramirez was fifth.
Unanimous 👏 pic.twitter.com/of4LLErv8m
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 22, 2024
Ramirez garnered 184 points in the voting process.
In just about any other season, Ramirez would have been an MVP finalist.
There were some incredible performances in the American League this year, though.
Judge hit 58 home runs and hit .322, with a 218 wRC+: there was no way he lost the AL MVP.
Witt and Soto also had legitimate MVP cases.
If anything, Ramirez could have finished fourth after flirting with a historic 40-40 season.
He hit 39 home runs and stole 41 bases, with a rock-solid .872 OPS.
Henderson did post a .893 OPS, but hit fewer home runs (37) and stole fewer bases (21).
The Guardians also ranked higher than the Baltimore Orioles, and J-Ram was a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove finalist.
It doesn’t matter at this point whether the stellar third baseman was fourth or fifth: all that matters is that he remains an elite performer at age 32.
The Guardians have been building around him for a long time, and managed to reach the AL Championship Series this year.
They are doing an amazing job staying competitive despite payroll limitations, and one of these years, Ramirez could help them reach the very top of the league.
NEXT: Guardians Avoid Arbitration With Key Young Starter
