Baseball season may be over, but fans can’t stop talking about the sport. Sure, MLB free agency has the attention of many right now with Aaron Judge atop the list of available players. But it’s also awards season around the sport.
After following along with Judge’s scintillating home run chase as he blasted his way into New York Yankees record books, we’d be remiss not to appreciate the season that was.
Thankfully, the folks at the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) are still reminiscing about the 2022 season, and they just revealed Judge as the latest American League MVP in a near unanimous vote.
Here were the finalists for the 2022 AL MVP:
- AL MVP finalists:
- Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
You almost have to feel for the voters here as each candidate presents a valid case to win the award. While Ohtani won the trophy in 2021, the other two contenders were vying for the first of their MLB careers.
Despite each player having fantastic performances this season, unfortunately, there can only be one actual winner who gets to display the 2022 AL MVP award in their trophy case.
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Aaron Judge wins 2022 AL MVP trophy
After the magical season Judge had, it was hard not to hand the New York Yankees slugger the MVP award. Who else can hit 60-plus home runs while also hitting over .300? That’s just it, no one can.
Judge gave baseball fans a reminder of the days when we routinely saw players hit north of 50 home runs, only no one else in baseball could top that mark in 2022. Judge seemingly did it with ease.
- Aaron Judge stats in 2022: .311/.425/.686/1.111 OPS, 62 home runs, 131 RBI
While Judge’s accomplishments should be celebrated, the Yankees have a bigger concern on their hands. Judge is currently a free agent, and obviously, the league’s most marketable ballclub doesn’t want to let their most popular player join a different team.
But he’ll have no shortage of suitors. While we may not yet know which team Judge will be taking the diamond for in 2023, we do know one thing, he’s the 2022 AL MVP.
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