New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge has been named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player for the second time in three seasons, the first time being in 2022, beating out teammate Juan Soto and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

Judge received all 30 first place votes, as voted on by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He joins Hall of Fame outfielder Mickey Mantle as the only Yankees to ever win the award unanimously.

The former Bulldog hit .322 in 2024 while leading all of Major League Baseball (MLB) in home runs (58), runs batted in (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.701) and wins-above-replacement (10.8).

In addition to winning MVP, Judge also was named to the All-MLB team and won the Hank Aaron and Silver Slugger awards for the AL. He was also named Baseball America’s MLB Player of the Year, adding to his historic season. 

He is the only Fresno State alum to be named league MVP twice in their career among the four major sports in the United States. 

Judge and the Yankees will begin the 2025 season at home, facing the Milwaukee Brewers on March 27, with first pitch for 12:05 p.m.