Aaron Judge made new American League and Yankees single-season records when he smashed his 62nd home run on Tuesday night. The slugger had the day off on Wednesday, and his chances of becoming the Triple Crown winner were almost over. The outfielder finished the regular season way ahead of Luis Arráez of the Twins in home runs and runs batted in, but he couldn’t catch him in the batting race. Instead, Aaron Judge ended the regular season with a .311 average, and Arreaz ended 2022 with a.316 average after going 1 for 1 with two walks in Minnesota’s win over the White Sox.
Since Carl Yastrzemski of Boston hit .301 in 1968, Arraez’s average was the lowest for an AL batting champion. The overall batting average in the major leagues was .243, which was the lowest since .237 in 1968, which was the last year before the pitcher’s mound was lowered. Starting next year, MLB will ban defensive shifts, which is likely to help batters.
Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs, which was more than Roger Maris did in 1961. Kyle Schwarber of Philadelphia hit 46 home runs, which was the most in the NL. In the major leagues, the gap between first and second place was the biggest since Jimmie Foxx had 17 more home runs than Babe Ruth in 1932.
Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso of the Mets both had 131 RBIs, which was the most in the major leagues. Shohei Ohtani, who is a one-of-a-kind player, has done it again.
Ohtani challenges Aaron Judge for MVP
The two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels became the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to qualify as both a hitter and a pitcher in the same season. He did this on Wednesday.
A player is deemed qualified if he makes 3.1 plate appearances and pitches one inning every team game. That equates to 502 plate appearances and 162 innings thrown throughout the course of a typical 162-game season. Ohtani entered Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Oakland A’s with 662 plate appearances as the Halos’ main DH and 161 innings thrown as a starter. In other words, he just needed one inning of mound work to attain this unprecedented milestone, which he accomplished with ease due to a brilliant opening frame. This puts him in a tussle with Aaron Judge for the MVP award.
Ohtani has done a lot of great things in the last two seasons, but this one may stand out the most when you think about how hard it was. It’s also important to note that Ohtani has done a great job in both roles. Before Game 162, he had a 146 OPS+ with 70 extra-base hits and a 2.35 ERA on the mound with 213 strikeouts and 43 walks. In the game on Wednesday, he pitched five innings and gave up one run. At the plate, he went 1 for 4.
This is a warm-up for what is sure to be a heated discussion about the American League MVP. Last year’s winner, Ohtani, has clear strengths, but the Yankees’ Aaron Judge seems to be the favorite. Judge, of course, broke the AL record with 62 home runs and came close to winning the Triple Crown. He also led the Major Leagues in walks and total bases and had an OPS+ of 211.
Who do you vote for as the AL MVP in 2022?
