Aaron Judge Should be AL MVP

Up until this week I was in the camp that Jose Altuve, the Astros dynamic second baseman, should be the American League’s Most Valuable Player. But after Aaron Judge’s ridiculous September surge, I have changed my mind.

The case against the Yankees right fielder is this: Judge went cold for a large chunk of July and August and as his average plummeted, the Yankees swooned. That claim holds merit, but even with his dip in production, Judge has jacked more home runs than any rookie in the history of baseball while also leading the American League in on base percentage, slugging percentage, walks, and runs scored. Aaron Judge was the clear-cut best player in baseball from April 1st through the All-Star break, then went cold, but then caught fire again to reclaim his crown as baseball’s best.

The debate will come down to this: Do we value consistency or unparalleled dominance? If it’s consistency, the award belongs to Altuve. He will finish the season with well over 200 hits and a batting average near .350. With that said, Altuve has not had stints where he has run rampant on the opposition as Judge has. If we want to reward dominance, as I think we should, Judge deserves the award.