Ever since the Baseball Writers Association of America started casting votes for the Kenesaw Landis AL/NL Most Valuable Player Awards in 1931, the same city has claimed the coveted titles only 12 times, with New York players taking it home over half of those occasions. In 2024, for the first time in almost 70 years, NYC could possibly gloat about having both of the best baseball players in Major League Baseball.
The Big Apple hasn’t welcomed both MVPs home since 1956 when Mickey Mantle won MVP for the AL and Dodgers’ Don Newcombe brought it back to Brooklyn. Only a year prior, Yanks HOF catcher Yogi Berra took the American League trophy. At the same time, Brooklyn’s Roy Campanella won the NL MVP in his last season before he was left paralyzed after a tragic car accident. In ’54, it was Yogi Berra again. Willie Mays (Giants), Berra and Campanella took their first MVPs twin titles in 1951, Joe DiMaggio and Dolph Camilli of the Dodgers won both MVPs a decade earlier(1941), while the Yankees legend Lou Gehrig and NY Giants’ Carl Hubbell were the first to bring both AL and NL Most Valuable Player titles back to NYC in 1936. Lindor and Judge may just have the magic to make it happen here once again.
No one can ignore the wave that the Mets have been riding, given their eight-game winning streak, which locked in their Wild Card spot and those feats would have been unattainable without superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor and his red hot appearances at the plate. The 30-year-old belted nine of his 31 HRs of this season were in those last eight outings, including two in the same game against the Padres with one of those dingers being a grand slam. As the Mets’ ironman, Lindor has not missed a game this season and only missed three games since suffering an oblique injury during his rookie season in 2021. Sure to surpass 30 stolen bags before the end of September, there’s no question why Lindor is a close second in the NL MVP rankings., this year.
Bronx Bombers’ right fielder Aaron Judge has posted unequaled stats this season while helping the Yanks lead the helm in the AL East, including the most home runs in MLB(51), only to be trailed by the number one NL MVP contender, Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. #99 has the 3rd highest batting average in the league(.319), only behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., who have played more games and had more plate appearances than Judge in 2024. Judge also leads the league in RBIs(126), forcing teams to deliberately attempt to keep him from making contact with the ball, which is why he also leads the league in walks.
As with anything in baseball and life, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Many critics believe that Lindor batting under .300 is a no for an MVP. However, despite the entire baseball world watching Ohtani on his road to 50/50, Lindor’s only MVP competition still hasn’t broken the .300 mark either. Even Judge, with his phenomenal hitting feats, still ties Oakland’s Brent Rooker with the most Ks in the league(156). Additionally, Judge’s bat has been going cold lately, with no HRs in his last 13 games since the Home Run Derby, which has the Yankees’ record split 13-12 in their last 25 games.
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