Shohei Ohtani and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have been superstars on the diamond all MLB season long, both putting up seasons worthy of an MVP. Ohtani hit .257 with 46 HR and 100 RBI while pitching to a 9-2 record with a 3.18 ERA in 130.1 innings pitched as the MVP frontrunner all year long despite the Angels not making the playoffs. Vladdy Jr. slashed .311 with a t-most 48 HR and 111 RBI for the Blue Jays, flirting with the Triple Crown until the final stretch of the season.
While the two have been leading the way in MVP talks most of the season, the season Aaron Judge has had for the Yankees deserves to be recognized among the best of the best. The former AL Rookie of the Year led the Yankees to the final AL Wild Card spot after a turbulent season for the team while hitting .294 with 18 HR and 51 RBI in his last 64 games and coming through in the clutch time and time again to lift his team to the postseason.
Aaron Judge has the most go-ahead RBI (8) in the 8th inning or later by a #Yankees player during 1 season in the Expansion Era (1961) pic.twitter.com/DvrftxktPS
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) October 4, 2021
OHTANI & VLADDY HAVE THE NUMBERS BUT AARON JUDGE’S IMPACT WAS 2ND TO NONE
COLORS KEY | FULL YANKEES OUTLOOK
Shohei Ohtani had a season that nobody has seen in the MLB since Babe Ruth was playing for the Boston Red Sox in the early 1900s and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came close to a Triple Crown after a tremendous year. Both deserve to be and are the MVP frontrunners, however Aaron Judge has been a leader for the New York Yankees, who edged out the Blue Jays and the Mariners for the last AL Wild Card spot on the final day of the season.
Aaron Judge put up the best numbers of his career since his 2017 ROY campaign which saw him slug for 52 HR and 114 RBI while finishing second in AL MVP voting. This year, the Yankees needed all the help they could get from Judge, as they sat in fourth place in the AL East at the All-Star break in July. Over the second half of the season, Judge sparked his team to a massive comeback.
The Yankees took over second place in the AL East for much of September before ending the year with a Wild Card spot, battling in the toughest division in the MLB. He helped the Yankees fend off Toronto and Seattle towards the end of the season, and finished in the top 5 in the AL in HR, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Judge was an elite player all season long, and despite tremendous seasons from Ohtani and Guerrero Jr., he deserves to be in the AL MVP conversation due to his consistent clutch contributions.
Judge sends Yanks to AL WC
The @Yankees walk it off into the postseason! #CLINCHED pic.twitter.com/uz2yfV0q9O
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2021
Gio flies into the dugout
On #Game162, @Urshela10 makes the CATCH OF THE YEAR. pic.twitter.com/VCS3L7lYMU
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2021
Aaron Judge 2021 highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-wyzNKyTDw
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