Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani win MVP, two Red Sox standouts earn votes
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani each unanimously won MVP, and a pair of Red Sox standouts also earned down-ballot consideration.
As expected, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Dodgers great Shohei Ohtani were announced as their respective league’s Most Valuable Player on Thursday night.
Both players were selected unanimously, with Judge earning his second career MVP honor and Ohtani his third. Ohtani is also just the second player in MLB history to win MVP in both leagues, joining Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.
Judge beat out Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr., who finished runner-up on all 30 ballots, along with Yankees teammate Juan Soto, Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez in the American League vote. Two Red Sox players also received MVP votes, with outfielder Jarren Duran finishing eighth and third baseman Rafael Devers 13th.
Duran appeared on 25 of 30 ballots and received one fourth-place vote after posting one of the most impactful all-around seasons in Red Sox franchise history. Duran led MLB in both doubles (48) and triples (14) while batting .285 with 21 home runs, 75 RBI, 34 stolen bases and 8.7 wins above replacement over 160 games.
Devers received two votes, one seventh place and one 10th place, marking the fifth time in his career he’s received some degree of MVP consideration. Devers batted .272 with 28 home runs, 83 RBI and an .871 OPS despite playing through injury for the majority of the season.
Ohtani beat out New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor for the National League award, along with Arizona’s Ketel Marte, Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna and Milwaukee’s William Contreras. Three former Red Sox players, Atlanta’s Chris Sale (seventh place), Dodgers standout Mookie Betts (13th) and Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber (15th), received NL MVP votes as well.
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