BOSTON — My highly unscientific and highly informal American League MVP poll showed little chance of a true showdown inside the Yankees clubhouse. The top two MVP candidates live just a few feet apart in this bleak locker room, and the actual race couldn’t be more different.
The real-life AL MVP, of course, in that room is either slugging center fielder Aaron Judge or slugging right fielder Juan Soto, a close enough margin that among about a dozen Yankees people surveyed Sunday, most called it a tie or declined to choose.
One person was adamant that they voted for Judge, two others seemed to lean toward Judge, and one said Soto. The rest were blank votes.
Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez are sure to be on the list of contenders, but one look at the statistical leaderboards makes it pretty clear: Judge ranks first in most categories, and Soto is second.
If the vote were taken today, one Yankee would win and the other would come in second, but most Yankees wouldn’t say which one would win.
Manager Aaron Boone answered my question by saying I was the MVP. He’s a funny guy (in his own way).
Giancarlo Stanton said that because I actually had the vote, he had to obey me. Not necessarily, I explained to Stanton.
In my 35-plus years in the job, I’ve only voted for MVP four times. One vote goes to two reporters in each AL city. Unfortunately reporters are becoming a dying breed, but I usually work in a city with more than two reporters, so I usually get a separate vote or get benched entirely. (Maybe I should have gotten more MVP votes, but most of the players I voted for later turned out to be steroid users, so I have a sneaking suspicion the voting committee is double-crossing me.)
Anyway, Stanton cleverly dragged me into a boring explanation of the voting process rather than actually deciding between Judge and Soto, and I figured Stanton, being the smart guy he is, would find a way to avoid the question.
Anyway, I did my best.
Yankees bench coach Brad Ausmus, a Dartmouth graduate, introduced the Ivy League idiom.
“I think it’s the New York Yankees,” Ausmus said.
“I like them both,” catcher Jose Trevino said, “and thankfully we have them both on our team.”
Third base coach Luis Rojas asks if there could be a “co-” MVP.
One of the clearest answers came from Judge, who isn’t afraid to play jury: He picked Soto. (Soto missed the pregame and batter conference, but I’m not sure why that was necessary.)
“Juan definitely got my vote because he played some great defensive plays this year,” Judge told the Post. “He’s always on base. It makes my job a lot easier. [Anthony] Volpe is the driving force behind this offense.”
Henderson, Witt and Ramirez are all having MVP-caliber seasons, but as for who the real MVP is right now (Judge noted it’s still pretty early), it’s likely to be one of the Yankees, a pair of first-year players who are playing like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Judge and Soto, who set the AL home run record and won MVP in 2022, are 1-2 in the major categories, but Judge has a slight statistical advantage: He’s twice as good as Soto in slugging percentage (.681 vs. .599), OPS (1.108 vs. 1.035), runs created (76 vs. 71) and adjusted RBI wins (40 vs. 34), and he’s nearly twice as good as Soto in on-base percentage (.435 vs. .427) and time on base (138 vs. 137).
Judge has better power numbers than Soto, has a slight edge as a better center fielder compared to the underrated right fielder, and unlike Soto, doesn’t usually have a future Hall of Fame hitter waiting behind him (Judge is behind Soto).
But Soto was great from Day One, pitching a stellar Opening Day win over underdog Houston, and he also transformed a lineup that was below average last year (which may be unfair to Judge, who has done it alone the past few years).
Some in the Yankees lineup are trying to emulate Soto by being more acumen at the plate, but there’s no other pitcher like Soto, and who else is as comfortable with two strikes?
“He’s ranked up there, if not the best hitter in baseball,” Judge said of Soto. “He’s got great ball-hitting skills. He has great eyes, so even if it’s someone he’s never seen before, he’s not afraid to go two strikes down. He doesn’t care if it’s two strikes down. Two strikes, 3-2, 0-0, he’s a great hitter.”
Judge made a pretty compelling case for recommending Soto — not only is he a great player, he’s also a great captain — and that’s probably all my pointless research has been able to prove.
