All season long, it has been two names atop the American League. Aaron Judge or Cal Raleigh? Who should take home the MVP?
You can start with Aaron Judge, one of the best right handed hitters to ever play the game. Also, having one of the best right handed hitting seasons ever. Some of the stats he has put up are un-human like. On the other hand there’s Cal Raleigh, a switch hitting catcher who is not only putting up numbers, but also crafting a story like we’ve never seen before.
The big picture is that both of these players have dominated not just the AL, but the entire league as a whole all season long.
Cal’s batting average (.247), RBI’s (125), hits (147), stolen bases (14), and of course home runs (60), are all career highs for him. With those stats not only has Cal broken out, but so have the M’s.
Aaron Judge might have lead him in some stats like batting average (.331), OBP (.457), and OPS (1.145). But, the award is called most valuable player, not best stats player. Oh, and lets not forget, Judge plays in the most favorable ballpark for hitters while Cal plays in the least favorable ballpark for hitters; clear advantage for one side here.
The name MVP has lost its name value recently, and there is no better time than this year to revive it.
Being a catcher comes with a lot more responsibility than just hitting and fielding. A catcher leads the game at the plate, and behind it. He tells the pitcher what pitch to throw and where to throw it, and he tells the fielders what to do in certain situations.
While Aaron Judge is getting more swings in the cage, Cal Raleigh is sitting in a pitchers and catchers meeting going over the gameplan. While Aaron Judge is taking BP, Cal Raleigh is catching bullpens. While Aaron Judge is resting his body, Cal Raleigh is working on blocking, framing, and throwing runners out. That list goes on forever.
For a catcher to play 159 out of the 162 games in a season is insane. Catching takes such a toll on the body of an athlete having to squat down for 9 innings. But, that doesn’t affect Cal as he was out there almost every game.
If you are the first player to ever do something in a season, that holds a lot of weight. Cal not only broke the catcher homerun record but he shattered it. He was the first ever catcher to hit not just 50, but 60 home runs in a season.
At the end of the day, the name MVP needs to bring its value back, and Cal is the perfect guy for that.
