AL MVP Race Makes History With Limited Pool of Players Receiving Votes

Beyond Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. unanimously finishing top-two in AL MVP voting, only 12 other position players garnered any attention lower on the ballot.

Jul 14, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran (16) is greeted by third baseman Rafael Devers (11) after scoring against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-Imagn Images

As expected, Aaron Judge took home AL MVP honors on Thursday night, but just because the New York Yankees superstar was a unanimous selection doesn't mean the ballot was boring.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America released the vote totals for everyone who appeared on one of the 30 10-player ballots, with Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. coming in second, free agent Juan Soto placing third and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson finishing fourth. Things got a bit more divided beyond that, but the variety wasn't as nearly as expansive as normal.

Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez rounded out the top five, followed by Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who unanimously won AL Cy Young on Wednesday. Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker made up the rest of the top 10, while Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, Seattle Mrainers catcher Cal Raleigh, Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander each garnered a handful of votes themselves.

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, Royals starter Seth Lugo, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, Tigers reliever Tyler Holton and Astros starter Framber Valdez earned one 10th-place vote apiece.

According to Céspedes Family BBQ, the 14 different position players who received AL MVP votes are the fewest since there were 13 who placed in the 1988 NL MVP race.

one note on these results:

only 14 different position players received MVP votes in the AL -- that's the smallest variety to receive votes since the 1988 NL MVP ballot in which 13 position players received MVP votes https://t.co/oBOdsoaftq

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) November 22, 2024

Part of that has to do with the three starting pitchers and two relief pitchers who earned votes, but Skubal and Clase's dominance on the mound would have had them appearing on ballots in any year.

Put simply, a handful of American League stars simply underperformed in 2024. Marcus Semien, Julio Rodríguez, Yandy Diaz, Adley Rutschman, Luis Robert Jr., Adolis García, Bo Bichette, J.P. Craword all took majors steps back after each earning MVP votes in 2023. Add in Kyle Tucker's injury woes and Shohei Ohtani leaving for the National League, and the pool of contenders was certainly a lot shallower year-over-year.

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