Heading into the 2022 MLB season, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge wasn’t the top candidate to win the AL MVP Award at the end of the year.
Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani had won the 2021 edition unanimously, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. came in second in last year’s vote and had an amazing campaign.
Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez was also there, and other players were also considered great candidates, perhaps as good or better than Judge: Mike Trout, Jose Ramirez, and Rafael Devers come to mind.
In fact, Judge’s MVP odds before the start of the year were set at +2000.
Alvarez was very close, at +2500, but both were considered underdogs compared to Ohtani’s +350.
How it started ➡️ How its going
A look at @BetMGM's MVP odds throughout the year. pic.twitter.com/GxotRyi5Rm
— MLB Picks (@MLBPicks) November 17, 2022
Judge started hitting home runs at a torrid pace and was dominant and consistent all season.
By August, we were all talking about the possibility of Judge surpassing Roger Maris‘ old record of 61 home runs.
He did just that, hitting 62 and making history.
Both Ohtani And Judge Had Historic Seasons, But Only One Can Win
Judge also fought for the Triple Crown award by hitting .311 and driving in 131 runs.
Oh, and he covered two outfield positions with above-average metrics and performance.
As we head to tonight’s AL MVP announcement, Judge’s odds look much, much better.
His closing odds are set at -10000, while Ohtani’s are at +2500.
Ohtani had a historic season in his own right: he performed like a top-ten hitter and like an ace in the same year, which nobody else has done.
That’s unbelievably rare.
But Judge’s offensive performance has him on another level this year: as the closing odds indicate, he is the heavy favorite to take home his first AL MVP.
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