Yesterday, the results of the American League Most Valuable Player award were released to the public. As expected, Aaron Judge won, and as expected, Bobby Witt Jr. was the runner-up.
Both had incredible seasons, and there were arguments for both players to be the MVP. Judge led the league in Wins Above Replacement in both Fangraphs’ and Baseball-Reference’s version. Additionally, Judge’s offensive output was historic. His 218 wRC+ is the sixth-highest figure since World War II ended. Meanwhile, Witt also put up a 10 WAR season. Whereas Judge’s value rests mostly on his bat, Witt was simply the best overall player in the game this year—a true five-tool player who was a great hitter, a great fielder, and a great baserunner.