NEW YORK — Aaron Judge’s response to Cam Schlittler’s growing MVP case raised eyebrows around the Yankees. Now a Hall of Fame pitcher has stepped into the argument — and he sees Judge’s point.
Former Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz defended the reasoning behind Judge’s comments during an appearance on Ben Verlander’s “Flippin’ Bats” podcast, adding another prominent voice to a debate that has followed Schlittler through his dominant September.
“I understand what Aaron is saying,” Smoltz said.
The Yankees captain created the discussion after Schlittler overwhelmed the Mets on Sept. 13 at Yankee Stadium. Asked whether his teammate deserved consideration for the American League MVP Award, the three-time MVP praised Schlittler but drew a clear distinction between the league’s two major individual awards.
“He’s definitely pitching like an MVP, but they’ve got a Cy Young Award for a reason — best pitcher in the game,” Judge said. “So he’s got my vote, definitely, for the Cy Young.”
The answer stood out because other Yankees had gone further.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Schlittler “might be the MVP, too,” while Cody Bellinger pointed to Clayton Kershaw’s 2014 National League MVP season as evidence that an exceptional pitcher can belong in that conversation.
Judge did not criticize Schlittler. In fact, he explicitly said the right-hander was pitching at an MVP level.
But his suggestion that the Cy Young Award exists to recognize the game’s best pitcher opened a larger argument over whether pitchers should receive serious MVP consideration at all.
Smoltz explains why Judge’s position makes sense to him
Smoltz’s defense focused less on statistics and more on the different role a position player occupies over the course of a season.
The Hall of Famer argued that pitchers generally cannot lead a club in exactly the same day-to-day manner because starters take the mound once every five days. Smoltz noted that his Braves teams were unusual because Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Smoltz collectively gave Atlanta significant leadership from its rotation.
His larger point was that championship clubs normally need a position player who is present every day and can become the central voice of the roster.
That distinction helped Smoltz understand why Yankees captain Judge could view Schlittler as baseball’s best pitcher without necessarily placing him atop an MVP ballot.
It does not mean pitchers are prohibited from winning MVP.
Kershaw captured both the NL Cy Young and MVP awards in 2014 after going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA. Justin Verlander accomplished the same double in the American League in 2011.
Judge’s view instead appears to reflect a philosophical distinction over how the two awards should work.
That is what makes his answer particularly interesting.
Few players carry more authority in an MVP discussion than Judge, who has won the award three times himself. And few pitchers understand the value of an elite starter better than Smoltz, a Cy Young winner and one of the most accomplished postseason pitchers of his generation.
Schlittler keeps making MVP debate difficult to ignore
Schlittler has done little on the mound to quiet the conversation.
The 25-year-old entered Sunday at 14-6 with an AL-best 1.94 ERA across 190 2/3 innings. He also owns a 0.91 WHIP and 234 strikeouts, while opponents are batting just .184 against him.
He leads the American League in ERA and innings and ranks among its leaders in several other major pitching categories.
Even Saturday’s uneven Yankees loss to Arizona strengthened parts of his case.
Schlittler allowed three runs over six innings, but only one was earned. He surrendered three hits, walked three and struck out six, lowering his ERA from 1.95 to 1.94 despite receiving a no-decision in New York’s 5-3 walk-off loss.
The performance continued a remarkable stretch in which opponents have struggled to generate meaningful offense against him.
That leaves two separate questions as the regular season reaches its final week.
The first is whether Yankees’ Schlittler has been the American League’s best pitcher. His numbers have made that case increasingly difficult to challenge.
The second is whether a pitcher producing that type of season should be judged against everyday hitters for the MVP.
Judge has made his position fairly clear.
Now Smoltz has provided the Yankees captain with one of baseball’s most accomplished pitching voices in his corner.
The disagreement surrounding Schlittler may therefore have less to do with whether his season is extraordinary and more to do with what voters believe the word “valuable” should mean.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
