Why Greatness Fatigue Can’t Impact The MVP

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MAY 13: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners looks on while standing next to Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees at T-Mobile Park on May 13, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Getty Images

As the 2025 season has officially come to a close, so has one of the best MVP races in recent history.

Two players on opposite coasts complete historic feats offensively, all while being above-average fielders at their position.

Representing the East Coast was the New York Yankees right fielder, Aaron Judge, who has made a habit of being an MVP finalist.

In 152 games this year, Judge finished the year leading baseball in bWAR (9.7) and in every aspect of the slashline (.331/.457/.688), which gave him the best OPS (1.144) in baseball as well.

This gave Aaron Judge the batting title for the first time in his career, beating out the next-best batter by .020 points.

Judge, known as a prolific power hitter, has been steadily improving the contact portion of his game, without losing his power stroke.

Now, after Judge joined Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa for the most 50-homer seasons in MLB, Judge also became just the third player in MLB history to win a batting title and hit 50 long balls.

Defensively, Judge returned to his primary position of right field after moving to center field in 2024. In his return, Judge finished with a +3 in Outs Above Average, +2 in Fielding Run Value, and just 1 error in 95 games.

The reason Judge only played 95 games was due to a right elbow flexor strain he suffered midseason.

This led to a 10-day IL stint, as the Yankee captain discussed whether surgery was required for the injury. After the IL stint was up, Judge was cleared to swing but had to follow a throwing program to return to the field.

After a 38-game hiatus from right field, Judge returned and still managed to enter his name into the MVP discussion.

The discussion has been a lively one thanks to his West Coast counterpart in Cal Raleigh.

Raleigh, the catcher of the Seattle Mariners, had a historic season of his own.

The fifth-year switch-hitting catcher trails Judge in a majority of hitting statistics, except for one: home runs.

Raleigh slugged 60 long balls in 159 games this season, making it the most in one season by a catcher, a switch-hitter, and just the seventh player all-time to hit 60 or more in a campaign.

As a positional group, catchers always rank amongst the worst, and this year was no different. The position as a whole finished 2025 with a .694 OPS, compared to the league average of .720.

And not only did Raleigh play 121 of his 159 games behind the dish, but he did so amongst the other best in his position group.

While managing one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, Raleigh finished 2025 +7 in Catcher Framing Runs and +2 in Catcher Caught Stealing Above Average, throwing out 21 attempted base-stealers on the year.

Raleigh had a historic year at an immensely important position for a team, which led the Mariners to their first AL West title since 2001.

Both of these seasons by Judge and Raleigh deserved to be remembered throughout MLB history.

For Judge, however, the amount of memorable performances #99 has produced is now hurting his case for the 2025 MVP instead of helping it.

And it is natural for fans and potentially baseball writers with an MVP vote to experience greatness fatigue. When a new player or team threatens to take down the established leader, it is hard not to root for the new storyline.

But the separation Judge created over Raleigh, alongside the rest of the league, cannot be overlooked due to this.

On top of that, .020 lead in batting average, Judge also led the next-best batter in On Base Percentage (.058), Slugging Percentage (.060), and On Base Plus Slugging (.130).

It is one of, if not the best season Judge has had offensively, which could be considered one of the best offensive seasons for a right-handed hitter in MLB history.

And, if he were to win the award over Raleigh, Judge’s third MVP would add to his argument for the top right-handed hitter in baseball history.

This is where the greatest fatigue cannot take over for the voting committee.

There is still a lot to come in Judge’s career, especially when it comes to October.

But even if we were to only analyze Judge’s career up to this past season, it would not be valued properly without the award.

Especially when considering that a 2025 MVP could be the fifth in his career, as he fell just short of winning in 2017.

Judge lost the MVP his rookie year to Jose Altuve, despite hitting 52 home runs with a 1.049 OPS.

When compared head-to-head with Altuve, Judge led or tied in all offensive categories besides hits, stolen bases, and batting average.

The sizable difference in batting average (.346 to .284) was the deciding factor between the award going to Houston or New York, despite Judge’s overall production exceeding Altuve’s.

Now, as Judge has won a batting title of his own, while still hitting for power better than he did in 2017, he hopes that the logic that voted against him can now be on his side.

If not, then the true story of Judge’s dominance from 2017 to 2025 may not be adequately appreciated.

And in a sport built around its history, Judge could be building a career that stacks up in the “Mount Rushmore” of position players.

Raleigh produced an MVP-caliber season, and in other seasons, it could have been enough to bring home hardware.

But when it comes to Judge, what he is doing is historic on a season-scale, and on a career trajectory.

As he looks to continue to tell the story of his career, he can but hope that the voters truly appreciate the prime that we get to witness.