Aaron Judge, Yankees are practically handing the AL MVP to Mariners' Cal Raleigh

There's never really any excuse needed to hate on the New York Yankees, but you better believe plenty of Seattle Mariners fans still look for reasons. Plus, who doesn't want to show some support for Ken Griffey Jr., who never forgot or forgive the evil empire for a negative experience he had as a child when his father played for the team.

Well, don't look now, but the Yankees might actually be doing the Mariners a favor for once, as they continue to free-fall from their previous position as the team to beat in the AL. At one time sitting with a tremendous 42-25 record, the Bronx Bombers have since then lost 32 of 54 games, including eight of their last 12.

As a result the Yankees now sit 6.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays at the AL East summit, while also just clinging onto the third and final wild card spot. Arguably the poster boy for this fall from grace is Aaron Judge, with his recent form also now putting Cal Raleigh in position to actually claim an AL MVP award which would have previously been considered the stuff of fantasy in Seattle.

In fairness to Judge, he recently missed playing time due to a right elbow injury, but irrespective since his return he's struggled in going just 5-for-25 at the plate. Further compounding the situation, he's been limited to only playing DH and forcing Giancarlo Stanton to play in right field, which is not where he's meant to be at this stage of his career.

Cal Raleigh seemingly out of his slump for the Mariners

We appreciate that Raleigh himself was also slumping for a minute there recently. However, apart from the reality he was always going to come back down to earth following his almost surreal start to the 2025 season, he does seem to have gotten back on track as evidenced by three home runs and eight RBI in the three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.

As a result of the series against the Rays, Raleigh now has 45 homers on the season to still lead the majors (while his 98 RBI are tied for the league lead). The three bombs included one in the series opener, which may well be his signature hit of the year so far as one which can galvanize a team:

Judge is still the betting favorite to win AL MVP, but it's getting closer and all but definitively just a two-horse race at this point. The question is what it will take between now and the end of the season, for Raleigh to secure one of the most prestigious individual awards in Major League Baseball?

On the one hand, Judge still projects for more WAR and better rate stats compared to his rival in Seattle, while also having the experience of knowing what it takes to be AL MVP after winning it twice before, in 2022 and last year. However, there is a feasible path for Raleigh to come through and take home the glory.

What it will take for Cal Raleigh to win AL MVP

The Mariners' clubhouse leader is currently projected to hit 60 home runs and 131 RBI. And only whisper it at this stage, but this means Raleigh also still has a shot at equalling — and maybe even surpassing — Judge's AL record of 62 homers in a season, which was set in 2022.

Next, there is no denying that it's harder to play catcher in this league compared to in right field, which surely has to come into the equation for helping Raleigh's case for AL MVP. In addition, the longer Judge is limited to playing as just DH has to also impact his own chances negatively.

The final factor which will help Raleigh over Judge is how their respective teams play out the 2025 season. If the best catcher in the game helps his team make the playoffs and also finish with a better record than the Yankees, this surely becomes the very definition of what an MVP is all about?

Heck, let's take it even further and have the Mariners make the playoffs while their New York rivals miss out altogether — be still my beating heart — if this scenario doesn't clinch Raleigh the AL MVP, then nothing will.

As things stand, the Yankees are practically handing the award to the 2024 Platinum Glove winner, but there's still plenty to do between now and the end of the regular season.