On Thursday night, MLB will announce the winners of the MVP Awards (Most Valuable Player) in each league.
It is believed that New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is the favorite to win the junior circuit, while St. Louis Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt is considered the leading candidate in the National League.
Judge has been lighting the American League on fire since 2017, his rookie season, but has never won an MVP.
The same can be said about ‘Goldy’.
If Judge wins tonight, he will be joining an exclusive group that only has one player in franchise history.
“If #AaronJudge wins AL MVP tonight, he’ll be the second player ever to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards with the Yankees, joining Thurman Munson. (credit: @SlangsOnSports)” Yankees insider Bryan Hoch tweeted.
If #AaronJudge wins AL MVP tonight, he'll be the second player ever to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards with the Yankees, joining Thurman Munson.
(credit: @SlangsOnSports)
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) November 17, 2022
Judge won the AL ROY Award in 2017, by slashing .284/.422/.627 with 52 home runs (a record for rookies at the time) and 114 RBI.
Remembering The Great Thurman Munson
Munson was crowned the AL’s top rookie in 1970, with a .302/.386/.415 line, six home runs, 53 RBI, and some excellent play behind the plate.
Munson slashed .302/.337/.432 with 17 home runs, 105 RBI, and 14 RBI in 1976 to earn his first and only AL MVP award.
Judge can join him if he wins the award tonight, as expected.
He had a dream season in 2022, breaking Roger Maris‘ old AL record for most homers in a season with 62.
He also slashed .311/.425/.686 and drove in 131 runs.
Shohei Ohtani was marvelous, with 34 homers as a hitter and a 2.33 ERA as a pitcher.
That alone should prevent the voting to be unanimous.
However, the Los Angeles Angels’ star didn’t quite have the season Judge had, one in which he flirted with history on several fronts.
NEXT: Stats Show How Aaron Judge Saved The Yankees This Summer