Aaron Judge had one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history in 2022. He set an American League record with 62 home runs, posted a .311/.425 .686 slash line and helped guide the New York Yankees to the American League East championship. On Thursday, he was officially rewarded for his stellar season.
The selection was near unanimous, with Judge receiving 28 of a possible 30 first-place votes. Two-way star Shohei Ohtani — who won the AL MVP in 2021 and finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2022 — finished second. The voting for the Los Angeles Angels star was flipped from Judge. While Judge earned 28 first-place votes and two second-place votes, Ohtani was first on two ballots and second on the remaining 28.
Aaron Judge was two first place votes shy of being a unanimous AL MVP pic.twitter.com/3vGPS764bn
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 18, 2022
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone both issued statements congratulating Judge for his award.
SVP & GM Brian Cashman and Manager Aaron Boone regarding Aaron Judge's 2022 AL MVP Award: pic.twitter.com/u1vBhboP0b
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) November 18, 2022
They were not the only ones. Others in the MLB world sent their congratulations to Judge after the news was revealed.
Congratulations to Aaron Judge, the AL MVP. He received 28 1st place votes to 2 for the great Shohei Ohtani. Best season I’ve ever seen.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 18, 2022
Aaron Judge is the first Yankee to win MVP since Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
Not only did Judge set the American League home run record this season, but his 22 HR gap from the next closest AL player (Mike Trout: 40) was the largest gap between players in the same league since 1928. pic.twitter.com/b2tFEweLrS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 18, 2022
Aaron Judge wins the 2022 AL Most Valuable Player. Incredible season & very deserving. He received 28 1st place votes to Shohei Ohtani’s 2. We were lucky to witness him make history. #AllRise
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_TV) November 18, 2022
Congrats @TheJudge44! #SuperstarU https://t.co/8p17YiJIGq pic.twitter.com/Ufnj7BiUh2
— Fresno State Bulldogs (@FSAthletics) November 18, 2022
Judge picked the perfect time to have a career year, as he’s set to enter free agency, a storyline that has already dominated MLB’s offseason.
Also, with this MVP win, Aaron Judge’s season has now officially been inducted into the “Bet on Yourself in a Contract Year” Hall of Fame
— Casey Drottar (@CDrottar19) November 18, 2022
In addition to the Yankees and New York Mets, Judge is expected to draw interest from the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
This is Judge’s first MVP award. He previously won the American League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2017 and the Silver Slugger in 2017, 2021 and 2022.
Related: Paul Goldschmidt wins NL MVP, MLB world divided