Nov. 18 (UPI) — Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals claimed respective American League and National League MVP Awards, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced.
Judge and Goldschmidt received the honors Thursday on MLB Network. Los Angeles Angels designated hitter/pitcher Shohei Ohtani finished second in American League voting. San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado finished second in the National League.
“It’s tough to put into words, it’s an incredible moment,” Judge told MLB Network. “A lot of hard work throughout the years to get to this point.”
Judge, 30, led MLB with an American League single-season record 62 home runs last season. He also hit a career-high .311 with a league-best 131 RBIs and 133 runs scored. The All-Star outfielder helped the Yankees post a 99-63 regular-season record and a first-place finish in the American League East.
The Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians in an American League Division Series. They then lost to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Judge received 28 of 30 first-place votes. Ohtani received two first-place votes. Yordan Alvarez of the Astros, Jose Ramirez of the Guardians and Jose Altuve of the Astros joined Judge and Ohtani as the Top 5 vote-getters in the American League.
Goldschmidt, 35, hit .317 with 35 home runs and 115 RBIs in 151 games in 2022. The veteran first baseman led the National League with a .578 slugging percentage and .981 OPS.
“Factor [age] in and I’m more proud of what I was able to do in 2022 and even 2021,” Goldschmidt said. “Even if you take out age — and I’d have to look at the stats because I didn’t dive into them — but I think the way I played was the best.”
The seven-time All-Star helped the Cardinals post a 93-69 record to win the National League Central. The Philadelphia Phillies then beat the Cardinals in a National League Wild Card Series.
Goldschmidt received 22 first-place votes. Machado earned seven first-place votes. Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado also received a first-place vote. Los Angeles Dodgers teammates Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts also finished among the Top 5 vote getters from National League.
