"We are getting Aaron Judge fatigue" - Twins veteran flags unsung factor in Cal Raleigh's 2025 AL MVP race vs the Yankees captain

With two AL MVP awards already to his name, New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge is challenging for the presitigious prize yet again this season. At the moment, Judge is batting .360 with 34 home runs and 75 RBIs.

Outstanding numbers like those at the halfway point of the season would usually make Judge an easy favorite to go on to win the MVP award. However, the remarkable exploits of Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh have led to a fascinating two-horse race which promises to go right down to the wire.

Many rooting for Cal Raleigh have argued that the 28-year-old's fantastic hitting ability combined with his outstanding defense behind the plate makes 'more valuable' than Judge overall. Though that argument does have some substance to it, former Minnesota Twins hitter Trevor Plouffe talked about how the 'fatigue' of watching Aaron Judge be a perennial competitor for the MVP award may be skewing fans' opinion.

"We're overlooking the season that Judge is having. Look at the OPS+. A hundred is league average, means you're an average ballplayer. Judge's OPS+ is 231 right now," Plouffe said (17:23), via "Baseball Today" on Wednesday.

"We're overlooking one of the better seasons we're ever going to see by an offensive player. I don't think we should be. I think we're getting a bit of Judge fatigue, and we shouldn't," Plouffe added

Both Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh went yard as Yankees locked horns with the Mariners on Tuesday

The two competitors for the AL MVP award faced off on Tuesday, as Aaron Judge's Yankees and Cal Raleigh's Mariners locked horns in the Bronx on Tuesday, for the first of three games set to take place between the two teams.

Both players proved their credentials on the night. Judge hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, before Raleigh hit a two-run blast in the top of the eighth.

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It was Aaron Judge that ultimately had the last laugh on the night, though, as the Yankees ran out 10-3 winners.

Alongside chasing individual glory, both players are also hoping to help their team to an AL East and AL West title respectively, while also being in the conversation to win the World Series come October.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.