Aaron Judge was named the 2024 American League MVP on Thursday, earning the honor for the second time in his career. The Yankees’ captain secured all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), finishing ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. and Juan Soto, who placed second and third, respectively. With this achievement, Judge becomes only the seventh Yankee to win multiple MVP Awards since the BBWAA began voting in 1931, joining a prestigious group that includes Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and Alex Rodriguez.
A historic season from the Captain
Judge delivered a season even more remarkable than his MVP campaign in 2022, when he broke Roger Maris’ American League single-season home run record with 62. While matching that historic mark may be unlikely, Judge put together a season for the ages, setting personal bests across nearly every other batting category.
In his eighth seasons in the majors, Judge set a personal record for the most games played in a single season with 158 while posting an exceptional .322/.458/.701 slash line. He led the Majors in home runs (58), RBIs (144), on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (1.159), walks (133), times on base (322), game-winning RBIs (24), go-ahead RBIs (32), and position player fWAR (11.2).
Additionally, Judge led the American League in total bases (392) and extra-base hits (95) and ranked third in the Majors in batting average.
According to Baseball Reference, Judge’s 2024 campaign ranks as the best offensive season in history by any player not named Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds.
The Captain is a 2x MVP 🫡 #ALLRISE pic.twitter.com/iSbUUijtY2
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) November 21, 2024
Judge, Boone speak on Judge’s MVP honors
“I honestly wouldn’t be in this position without my teammates. Uh all the coaching we had this year, you know, this is such a blessing. I gotta thank God every day for this opportunity to be here and wear pinstripes and, and do it in New York,” Judge told MLB Network.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re at the top or wherever you’re at. You know, someone’s, someone’s always coming for you. Someone’s always coming for that spot. So you got to put in the work, you gotta continue to make changes, you gotta continue to try to improve yourself till they, till they rip this jersey off of you.”
“I want to congratulate Aaron on earning this distinguished honor, and I couldn’t be happier for such an amazing person and leader,” Boone told the YES Network. “After having a front row seat for his 2022 MVP performance, I really couldn’t envision a player having a better and more complete baseball season. But that’s exactly what he accomplished in 2024. I’m beyond fortunate to be able to manage Aaron, and I look forward to watching him further cement his legacy as one of this generation’s greatest players.”
Judge’s 2024 Awards
- Silver-Slugger
Judge earned his fourth Silver Slugger award in his eight-year Major League career.
- All-MLB First Team
Judge was named to the All-MLB First Team, presented by MGM Rewards, alongside teammate Juan Soto. All-MLB honors, first established in 2019, recognizes the best player or players at each position across the Majors each season, with both First Team and Second Team selections.
- Hank Aaron Award
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani were honored with the 2024 Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the top offensive performers in the American and National Leagues. This award often aligns with MVP selections.
