When Aaron Judge steered clear of controversy by refusing to challenge Jose Altuve's 2017 MVP title

Cody Bellinger, a former Los Angeles Dodgers slugger, said Jose Altuve stole New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge's 2017 MVP award after the Houston Astros' massive sign-stealing scheme surfaced in 2019. Altuve was the subject of controversy as a result of claims that he used a buzzer during the 2017 postseason.

The same year, Judge spoke and avoided controversy by not contesting Altuve's legitimacy for the 2017 MVP award.

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Aaron agreed with Bellinger but also took personal responsibility for not leaving the door open for another player to win the MVP award:

“With Bellinger, man, I agree with a lot of the things he said. He went out there and spoke his mind.

He added:

I really don’t want to get into the whole ‘if Altuve stole the MVP or not,’ because that really doesn’t matter; it’s over with. I’ve got to make sure next time I don’t keep the votes so close — to go out there and win it outright, so there’s no question. He won it, and that’s how it is.”

Aaron Judge received a unanimous vote for American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017 and came in second place for AL Most Valuable Player.

Jose Altuve is your 2017 AL MVP. Aaron Judge finishes second, having received 2 first place votes, 27 second place and 1 third place. – Bryan Hoch

In 2022, he broke Roger Maris' 61-year record for the league's most home runs in a season by hitting 62 of them, receiving the AL Most Valuable Player Award in the process.

Aaron Judge deleted his congratulatory tweet for Jose Altuve

Aaron Judge gave an explanation for why he removed his tweet of congratulations to Altuve in February 2020. He complimented Altuve on his American League MVP victory in 2017.

League Championship Series - Houston Astros v New York Yankees - Game Three

After learning about the Astros' cheating scandal, he removed the tweet.

"Yeah, oh yeah. I took it down right when the story broke out, and right when Mike Fiers came out and talked to The Athletic and stated what was going on in 2017. Once I heard that I was sick to my stomach,” Judge told one of the reporters.

Watch:

"I was just sick to my stomach." — Aaron Judge when asked why he deleted his tweet congratulating Jose Altuve on winning the 2017 AL MVP – SportsCenter

In November 2022, Houston Astros defeated Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 to win their second World Series title in franchise history.