Aaron Judge won his second career American League MVP award on Thursday, for a season that might have been even more impressive than the 62-homer campaign that won him his first.
The New York Yankees star was voted the unanimous winner by the 30-person BBWAA voting body, his first time receiving every first-place vote. In 2022, he lost two votes to Shohei Ohtani, the presumptive MVP winner in the NL.
The voting was also unanimous for second place, with Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals sweeping the second-place votes. Judge's teammate Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles and José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians all received third-place votes.
It was an extraordinary season for Judge, who posted career highs in all three slash line numbers at .322/.458/.701 while clubbing 58 home run, four short of his AL homer record and what many consider to be the clean record. He still joined Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Babe Ruth and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only players with multiple 55-homer seasons, as well as the first player with 140 RBI since 2009.
All of that history makes it easy to forget that Judge had a slow enough start to the season that some observers were worrying the 32-year-old was beginning to show signs of age. At the end of April, he was hitting .207/.340/.414 with a 27% strikeout rate and only six homers.
Those worries went away quickly. Over the next 98 games, Judge hit an unfathomable .376/.506/.846 with a homer in more than 10% of his plate appearances.
No MLB hitter is more feared than Judge when he's on. Of course, that wasn't the narrative around him once the playoffs began.
What of Aaron Judge's postseason?
Judge had a regular season to remember, and a postseason to forget. The latter didn't affect the MVP voting, as the BBWAA submits its votes before the playoffs begin. In this case, the system created some awkwardness.
After entering the 2024 playoffs with a reputation for choking in the postseason, Judge further hurt himself with a .184/.344/.408 performance across 14 games. It didn't stop the Yankees from reaching the World Series, but it sure was costly in a Fall Classic where Judge was billed as a marquee star alongside Ohtani. The Dodgers superstar also underperformed, but he had the excuse of playing through a torn labrum in his left shoulder after Game 2. Judge's struggles were his own and they were very visible, especially in Game 5.
It looked like Judge had finally found his swing in the elimination game when he went yard in the first inning, but that step forward was completely wiped out in what might go down as the most embarrassing inning for a team in World Series history.
With runners on first and second with no outs, Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman hit an easy fly ball straight to Judge in center field. Judge took a few step forwards, stuck his glove out and then bobbled it, loading the bases and setting the table for the Yankees to blow a five-run lead. Subsequent replay showed Judge's eyes moving to Dodgers baserunner Kiké Hernández, who had moved aggressively off first base, right before the ball arrived.
Judge was clearly trying to figure out if he could pull off a double play, but he ended up making the mistake ever Little Leaguer is warned about it. He took his eye off the ball.
You know what happened after that. A bounced throw from Anthony Volpe, Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rizzo assuming the other would cover first base, a pair of two-run hits for the Dodgers to tie the game and, a few innings later, Walker Buehler ending the series with a scoreless ninth.
A superstar underperforming in the playoffs is not a new narrative in baseball, but that performance is going to haunt Judge for years, and the only way to banish it is probably to come through in October.
Where do Judge and the Yankees stand this offseason?
Whether or not Judge can handle the pressure in October, the bigger task for the Yankees at this point is surrounding him with enough talent to at least make it a question again.
Priority No. 1 will be re-signing Juan Soto, the player who hit in front of Judge the entire season. It will not be cheap, and the Yankees don't have much of a back-up plan if Soto is lured by another team with big pockets, such as the Dodgers or New York Mets.
Even if the Yankees re-sign Soto, they still need to figure out their infield after declining their option on starting first baseman Anthony Rizzo and watching second baseman Gleyber Torres hit free agency. Key relievers Clay Holmes and Tommy Kahnle are also free agents, as is left-fielder Alex Verdugo, though the Yankees have an in-house replacement for the latter with top prospect Jasson Dominguez.
Judge remains under contract for the Yankees at $40 million per year through the 2031 season.
The end might have been disappointing, but 2024 was still a step forward for New York with its first World Series appearance since its title in 2009. The journey still goes on, and the Yankees are going to be relying on their captain to lead them further.