Aaron Judge wins AL regular season MVP, which is oh so on-brand

As expected, New York Yankees centerfielder Aaron Judge was named unanimous American League MVP on Thursday. This is Judge's second MVP award, and it comes on the heels of a historic offensive campaign for the first-place Yankees.

There's really no dinging Judge's case. He slashed .322/.458/.701 with 58 home runs and 144 RBI. His 10.8 WAR rounds out a comically impressive statistical profile, made all the more compelling by New York's collective success despite a deeply flawed roster. Judge did a lot of heavy lifting for the Yankees offense behind Juan Soto.

Now a two-time MVP, six-time All-Star, and four-time Silver Slugger, Judge's accomplishments rank among the very best in baseball. He's on the Hall of Fame track and there's not much of anything that can bump him off of it at this point.

That said, Judge has still not captured the ultimate prize — a World Series ring. New York made it all the way to the end of October this season, but the Los Angeles Dodgers put the Yankees in a premature grave. It wasn't a particularly close series, in part because Judge was M.I.A. for the majority of it.

Postseason struggles have become a maddening theme for Judge, to the point that fans care less and less about regular season accolades. We know Judge can deliver in the summer. Until he delivers in October, however, there will be a noticeable hole in his otherwise sterling resume.

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Aaron Judge wins American League MVP for a second time, but Yankees fans would trade it for postseason success

It's hard to overstate how disastrous Judge was in the playoffs. He didn't decline from all-time great to good — he went from the best hitter in baseball to one of the worst in the postseason, slashing .184/.344/.408 with three home runs, nine RBI, and 20 strikeouts in 49 at-bats. He walked 11 times, as pitchers still treated Judge with respect, but he was a black hole in the middle of New York's lineup for the majority of their World Series run.

Thankfully, Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, and others stepped up to carry the load during Judge's slump. Both Soto and Torres are notably free agents this winter. After winning the MVP award, Judge decided to opt out of potential questions about Soto's future or his postseason failures, skipping the traditional media availability that comes with winning such a prestigious award.

Judge is an absolutely incredible talent. Anybody pretending otherwise is kidding themselves. That said, we are past the point of endlessly celebrating his regular season accolades. It's a given that Judge will step up and perform for long stretches of the 162-game campaign. What matters more for Yankees fans is that single month of October. A World Series victory would do more for Judge's resume and reputation than any regular season award or milestone at this point.

That's not to say that Judge needs to win the World Series to be remembered as an all-time great, but it would absolutely make a difference in how he's perceived among the canon of MLB legends. A ring means immortality, which is what Judge is still chasing. Luckily for New York fans, he should have plenty of time left to achieve it.