Aaron Judge was awarded his second American League MVP honor on Thursday while Juan Soto finished third in the voting.
MLB announced its winners for the MVP on Thursday as the final award for the 2024 season. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees won the award for the second time in three seasons. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers was named the National League recepient.
Judge became the second player in Yankees history to win the award by unanimous decision. He earned all 30 first-place votes, beating out Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals who received all 30 second-place votes.
Soto earned 229 points by the voter system to finish third in the running. He received 21 third-place votes and no voter had him below fifth on their ballot.
Judge joins Luis Gil as Yankees to win awards this week. Gil was named the AL’s Rookie of the Year on Monday. Austin Wells finished third in that award voting.
Judge led the MLB with 10.8 wins above replacement, 58 home runs, 144 runs batted in, 133 walks, a .458 on-base percentage, a .701 slugging percentage, and a 1.159 OPS. He also batted .322 and led the Bronx Bombers with 180 hits and 36 doubles. The outfielder was named the American League Player of the Month in May, June, and August, as well as to the All-Star Game for the sixth time in his career.
Soto produced a career-high 41 home runs and 7.9 wins above replacement, one spot ahead of Judge in the Yankees’ lineup. The outfielder slashed .288/.419/.569 while also driving in 109 runs and leading the AL with 128 runs scored. He also started the All-Star Game for the American League in left field.
Casey Fahrer is a 2024 graduate of Syracuse University and a contributor to Inside The Pinstripes. He can be reached at caseyfahrer716@gmail.com.
