Ohtani, Judge Nab Consecutive MVP Awards

MLB announced Thursday that Shohei Ohtani unanimously won the National League Most Valuable Player Award, while Aaron Judge won the award for the American League.

Kyle Schwarber finished second in MVP voting, while Juan Soto came in third. Schwarber led MLB in RBIs (132), the NL in home runs (56), and was fourth in baseball in SLG (.563) and fifth in OPS (.928). Soto, meanwhile, led baseball in walks (127) and stole a career-high 38 bags. He led the Mets in runs (120), home runs (43), walks, stolen bases, OBP (.396), SLG (.525) and OPS (.921).

Meanwhile, Ohtani’s back-to-back win is no surprise. The 31-year-old followed up his 50-50 season with a .282/.392/.622 (1.014 OPS) line, 55 HRs, 102 RBIs, 146 runs scored and 20 stolen bases. On the mound, he started 14 games, going 1-1 across 47 innings pitched. He struck out 62 batters and posted a 2.87 ERA. Ohtani led the league in runs scored, SLG and OPS.

It is the third MVP Award in a row for Ohtani, who won the AL MVP in 2023, NL MVP in 2024 and NL MVP in 2025. He also won the AL MVP in 2021. He now stands alone for the second-most MVP titles in MLB history with four. Barry Bonds holds the record with seven.

Kyle Schwarber came in second, receiving 23 second-place votes, and Juan Soto came in third, with four second-place votes, 15 third-place votes, nine fourth-place votes and two fifth-place votes. Arizona’s Gerlado Perdomo received three second-place votes and seven third-place votes, while Trea Turner received one third-place vote.

Francisco Lindor came in 10th with one fourth-place vote, and Pete Alonso came in 11th with one third-place vote.

While the NL Award felt like a shoo-in, the AL Award could have gone either way. Cal Raleigh posted the single-greatest season ever by a catcher, hitting the most home runs by a catcher in a single season (60) AND most by a switch-hitter in a single season. He was the Home Run Derby champion, and finished his season as the MLB home run leader and AL RBI leader. Raleigh hit .247/.359/.589 (.948 OPS) with 60 HRs, 125 RBIs, 110 runs scored and 24 doubles. He also finished the year with a 9.1 fWAR, the highest of his career and second-best in baseball.

However, Aaron Judge was once again on another planet in 2025. He led the American League in runs scored (137), walks (124) and led all of baseball in batting average (.331), OBP (.457), SLG (.688) and OPS (1.145). The 33-year-old mashed 53 home runs, 179 hits and tallied 114 RBIs, posting a league-best 10.1 fWAR. It is the third AL MVP Award, and the second consecutive one, winning in 2024.

José Ramírez continued to be one of the most underrated players in baseball, and the Guardians likely would not have made their historic September turnaround without him. He finished the season with .283/.360/.503 line, and a .314/.426/.529 line in the final two weeks of the season.

The vote was close in the AL. Judge received 17 first-place votes and 13 second-place votes. Raleigh received 13 first-place votes and 17 second-place votes. Ramírez came in third, getting 19 third-place votes. Bobby Witt Jr. received nine third-place votes, while Tarik Skubal and Junior Caminero both received one third-place vote.

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