Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani used to have to compete for MVP awards, but now they can both win them. Since Ohtani joined the NL, he has won two consecutive MVPs, and Judge has taken both the awards in the AL. Had Ohtani stayed in the AL, we would’ve had some very interesting races, especially when factoring in Bobby Witt Jr. in 2024 and Cal Raleigh in 2025. Nevertheless, those two have yet again taken home the most illustrious hardware possible.

Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani earn historic MVPs

In the National League, there was little debate about who’d win the MVP. With all due respect to Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber, who both had outstanding years, the MVP was always going to be Shohei Ohtani. It’s likely to be him every year as long as he’s not hurt and plays even close to his usual level.

There was a legitimate, difficult debate to determine the American League MVP, though. Jose Ramirez was just there for show, as the award has been either Aaron Judge’s or Cal Raleigh’s since July. Judge had another historic offensive year and was baseball’s most valuable player by fWAR and bWAR, but Raleigh did things no catcher has ever done, and he was the second-most valuable player by those metrics. Ultimately, Judge’s statistical edges helped him overcome the narrative deficiency and win his third MVP.

Here’s how it played out in both MLB leagues:

• American League

  • Aaron Judge – 355 points
  • Cal Raleigh – 325 points
  • Jose Ramirez – 224 points
  • Bobby Witt Jr. – 215 points
  • Tarik Skubal – 139 points
  • Julio Rodriguez – 136 points
  • George Springer – 125 points
  • Garrett Crochet – 74 points
  • Junior Caminero – 37 points
  • Jeremy Pena – 32 points

• National League

  • Shohei Ohtani – 420 points
  • Kyle Schwarber – 260 points
  • Juan Soto – 231 points
  • Geraldo Perdomo – 196 points
  • Trea Turner – 102 points
  • Paul Skenes – 83 points
  • Corbin Carroll – 83 points
  • Fernando Tatis Jr. – 78 points
  • Pete Crow-Armstrong – 63 points

Others, including Cody Bellinger, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Brice Turang, Riley Greene, Aroldis Chapman, and Freddie Freeman, got votes on some ballots as well, but they were never even remotely a consideration.

Had two writers switched their votes in the AL from Judge to Raleigh, it would’ve been a tie, which might’ve been the best way to do it. Judge had the statistical edge, but baseball loves history, and Raleigh was historic in so many ways in 2025. Ultimately, the voters leaned towards the statistical performance, although Judge had one of the best seasons in baseball history still, even if it was slightly worse than his 2024 performance.

Don Mattingly presented the award to Judge, who said via ESPN about Raleigh and Ramirez, “They had two incredible seasons. It’s always fun playing against those two, especially when we play Seattle. The main objective is, ‘Make sure Cal doesn’t beat you.'” Judge won a batting title as well.

He and Ohtani, who might’ve already done so, essentially booked their trips to the Hall of Fame. A two-time MVP who has the AL home run record, a record many believe to be the “true” record since it’s not tainted by steroid allegations, was always a likely Hall of Famer, but there is no clean three-time MVP not in the Hall. Everyone who’s earned the award three times or more has been immortalized. Ohtani had already booked his trip by that logic, but a fourth certainly confirms it. We have never seen a player like him, and he’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. At this rate, both these players are. Presumably, these two will be the MVP favorites in 2026 and will remain so until either of them begins to decline or shows cracks, which at this point seems patently impossible.