NYY Aaron Judge Explodes Resurrection's Home Run in 20 Days Who Said AL MVP Competition Is Over

Aug 13, 2025

NYY Aaron Judge Explodes Resurrection's Home Run in 20 Days Who Said AL MVP Competition Is Over



The American League (AL) MVP competition is on fire again. Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), who had been silent for a long time, started a home run again, sparking a fire. Carl Raleigh (Seattle Mariners) seemed to have turned the tables, but it has not been confirmed yet. Judge is still the most likely AL MVP candidate.

Judge, who is also the Yankees' captain, ignited a home run that had been temporarily shut down due to an elbow injury. It was his 38th home run of the season in 20 days.

Judge started as the second designated hitter in a home game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in New York on the morning of the 13th (Korea time) and hit a hot home run from his first at-bat. Judge, who came to the batter's box after one out in the bottom of the first inning when he was trailing 0-1, hit a 96.2 mph (about 154.8 km) four-seam that came into the middle of the strike zone with a ball count of 2B2S.




The batting speed of 110.2 miles (about 177.3 kilometers) was recorded. The ball that was properly caught in the center of the bat got the strength of Judge and crossed the middle fence without fail. It was a large solo gun with a flying distance of about 130 meters. Thanks to Judge's home run, the Yankees tied the game 1-1.

NYY Aaron Judge Explodes Resurrection's Home Run in 20 Days Who Said AL MVP Competition Is Over
It was a home run that washed away the attention of concern after the elbow injury. Until recently, Judge was fiercely competing with Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) for MLB's representative home run hitter position. Raleigh was also competing for the AL MVP.

However, an unexpected bad news occurred. Having a right elbow injury at the end of July. In an away game against the Toronto Blue Jays on the 23rd of last month, it was revealed that his elbow muscles were overloaded in the process of making a strong home throw.




The Yankees eventually put Judge on the 10-day injured list (IL) on July 27. The injury was a flexor strain on his right elbow. Fortunately, there were no abnormalities in the bones and ligaments.

NYY Aaron Judge Explodes Resurrection's Home Run in 20 Days Who Said AL MVP Competition Is Over
As expected, Judge returned on the 6th after completing 10 days. However, not only did the home run not continue to hit since returning, but also the hitting sense was low, raising concerns about the aftermath of the elbow injury. Since returning, Judge has been batting only 0.211 with an OPS of 0.558 in the last six games.

However, Judge's home run blew away these concerns at once. It was his 38th home run of the season, which he hit in seven games after returning and 20 days after the game against Toronto on July 24. At the same time, it is also a sign that the AL MVP race has entered a new phase.




NYY Aaron Judge Explodes Resurrection's Home Run in 20 Days Who Said AL MVP Competition Is Over
Raleigh (45) is still the leader in AL home runs. It is not easy for Judge, who is trailing by seven points, to turn the tables. However, even if he misses the home run king, there is a possibility that he will not miss the AL MVP. If he continues the home run race with Raleigh as much as possible and overwhelms Raleigh in other indicators, Judge is likely to gain more support.

Raleigh has shown overwhelming home run productivity, but his batting average is only 0.245 (108 hits in 441 at-bats). The OPS is also 0.938. Judge has a batting average of .337 and a huge OPS of 1.141. Another factor is that he is the captain of the Yankees, a popular national baseball team. There are reasons why U.S. bettors give Jersey a higher probability.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.