Mariners' Cal Raleigh is making Yankees fans lose their minds with AL MVP push

Don’t look now, but the AL MVP race is about to get real petty — and Mariners fans are here for every second of it.

While Yankees fans are busy melting down on social media, clutching their pinstriped pearls over the idea that Aaron Judge might not be crowned king again, Cal Raleigh is busy doing what he does best: carrying his team in September and keeping them relevant in the playoff race. Mariners fans can smell the panic coming out of the Bronx — and honestly, it’s glorious.

The beauty of all this? It isn’t even some out-of-nowhere underdog story. Raleigh has been slugging his way into the conversation all year, but the fact that it’s a catcher from Seattle and not the golden-boy captain of the Yankees who might hold the edge in the AL MVP race has New York in a tailspin. Mariners fans know the vibe: every time Judge blinks, the national media wants to hand him hardware. But the MVP isn’t a lifetime achievement award. It’s about 2025, and the reality is Cal Raleigh is forcing voters to think twice.

Cal Raleigh’s MVP case has Yankees fans spiraling into full meltdown mode

The front-runner status has bounced back and forth for months, depending on whether Raleigh was in a slump or Judge was sidelined. Judge’s stint on the IL with a right elbow flexor strain in late July didn’t help his case, though he’s still posted his typical eye-popping numbers since returning. But as the season winds down, the gap has tightened into a true coin flip: sportsbooks have them both sitting at -115, and suddenly every at-bat feels like it could sway history.

Here’s where it gets uncomfortable for voters — Raleigh is outproducing Judge when it matters most. In September, Raleigh is slashing .288/.409/.658 with eight home runs and 14 RBIs. Judge’s line (.344/.506/.656, six homers, eight RBIs) is nothing to dismiss, but WAR tips the scales: Raleigh 1.4, Judge 1.3. And yet, even with those numbers right in front of them, some people still insist otherwise:

Before anyone in New York fires off their next 3,000-word meltdown thread, defense does actually matter. That’s why there’s a Hank Aaron Award, strictly for offense. MVP is about all-around value. Raleigh plays elite defense at catcher while raking. Judge plays right field and hits tanks. Those are not the same thing, no matter how many Yankees fans cry about it.

Then there’s the thing Yankees Twitter really doesn’t want to hear. It's the Etsy Witch effect, as Raleigh’s 1.151 OPS with seven homers during the Mariners’ 14-1 surge since September 6 has catapulted Seattle from the No. 6 seed to the No. 2 seed. That’s MVP material, plain and simple.

While Judge is putting up gaudy stats, Raleigh is putting up gaudy stats and directly ascending his team into prime playoff position. Mariners fans are enjoying every second of the chaos, and the louder Yankees fans complain, the more it feels like Raleigh’s case is the one with staying power.

So buckle up, because the final week of the season isn’t just about standings — it’s about seeing whether Cal Raleigh can finish off one of the most remarkable MVP pushes in recent Mariners history.