The criteria for Most Valuable Player has never been spelled out by Major League Baseball. As a result, it’s become an award based on “feel” more than science, and even the stats that the Elias Sports Bureau bombards us with. When you strip away everything, though, Aaron Judge deserves the award.
The contest for the American League Most Valuable Player comes down to a midget vs. a giant. The choice between five-foot-six Jose Altuve and six-foot-seven Aaron Judge recalls a time in 1960 when the world of baseball was lit up by a trade between the Cleveland Indians, who dealt their matinee idol and home run slugger Rocky Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn, a singles hitter who had all the appeal of the tobacco chaw in his cheek.