We've now got just five days left in the 2025 regular season, and somehow it feels like we're still no closer to settling on this year's rightful AL MVP. By now, you're no doubt familiar with all of the arguments: in one corner, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, yet again at the top of nearly every offensive category; in the other, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who's hit more homers at his position (and as a switch hitter) than anyone in MLB history.
Does Judge's edge offensively eclipse the added value that Raleigh brings as a rock-solid defender at one of the sport's most important positions? It's a tough question to answer, largely because — while baseball statistics have come an awful long way in the last 10-20 years — we still don't have a perfect way to quantify all the little things that go into playing catcher (and playing defense) on a daily basis. But while calculating fWAR migiht be a bit above my paygrade, I am here to help offer a bit of an assist to Judge and Yankees fans from a most unexpected source: much-maligned New York shortstop
How, exactly? Well, to get a sense of just how great Judge has been — and how much greater he's been than any other hitter in the sport, including Raleigh — it helps to look at someone who's been ... not so great in comparison.
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The offensive gap between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh is much bigger than you probably think
It's hard to really wrap your head around the gap between Judge and the rest of the field this season, at least offensively. It's especially tough because Raleigh is having a tremendous, history-making year at the plate in his own right. The man might hit 60 homers and has set multiple MLB records; how much better could Judge be, really? As hard as it might be to believe the answer is: much, much better.
The best way we have to encompass a player's total value as a hitter is wRC+, or Weighted Runs Created — basically, a formula that takes a player's OPS (the sum of a player's offensive contributions, from walks to singles to homers) and turns it into a single metric that also accounts for park effects and the league-wide run-scoring environment. 100 is considered league average. Judge, unsurprisingly, leads all qualified hitters at 199 entering play on Wednesday. Raleigh is fourth, at 160.
But just how meaningful is that 39-point gap? Let's put it into context. The gap between Judge's contributions as a hitter and Raleigh's is nearly identical to the gap between Anthony Volpe (85) and All-Stars like Trea Turner (125), James Wood (125), Julio Rodriguez (126) and Junior Caminero (126).
Really let that sink in: Judge is to Raleigh as other star-caliber hitters are to one of the worst everyday players in the sport this season, a man so helpless at the plate (and in the field) that he's been a national punchline for months now. Even in a world in which Volpe were playing very good defense at shortstop, would anyone seriously argue that he's been a more valuable player than, say, Caminero or Wood — guys who have struggled at easier positions?
It's hard to think that the answer is yes, and for good reason. None of which is to take anything away from what Raleigh's done this year: He's been spectacular on both sides of the plate, and he deserves extra credit for doing so at a position where his sort of durability and offensive prowess is vanishingly rare these days. But too often people talk about this race as though the two are comparable as hitters, making it all too easy to give Raleigh the edge thanks to his glove.
In reality, though, the numbers tell us that Raleigh isn't in Judge's universe in terms of value as a hitter this year; it's roughly the difference between being an All-Star and being one of the worst qualified hitters in the sport. Raleigh's value as a catcher is real and significant, and certainly enough to make this a real argument. But it shouldn't be enough to cost Judge the trophy.