Cardinals legend makes strong case for Aaron Judge’s 3rd MVP trophy
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is well-positioned to win his third American League MVP award this season, as his torrid start has him hitting over .400.
St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols believes that what Judge has done is nothing short of impressive. In an appearance on MLB Network on Monday, the future Hall of Famer praised Judge for his spectacular start to the 2025 campaign.
“Everyone is expecting him to put the ball in the seats all the time. He has become this great hitter," Pujols said. "It’s about looking for a pitch to hit, taking what the pitcher is giving him, for example, yesterday, bases loaded, one out, ‘Hey, I got that pitch. I’m going to put the ball in play and hit that line drive all (the) way.’ He didn’t have to put the ball in the seats.”
While Pujols underscored Judge’s power, he also noted that Judge’s mindset is what’s driving his video game-like numbers.
“And when a hitter like him, with kind of mindset at the plate, I mean, he’s putting the numbers," Pujols said. "You see the results.”
As the discussion turned to Judge’s .409 batting average, Pujols had nothing but good wishes for him in his quest to break the .400 barrier.
“I hope he can hit .409 at the end of September or after the season, but it’s going be hard," Pujols said. "What he’s doing is pretty impressive and, once again, on the way to winning his third MVP.”
The last time an MLB player topped a .400 batting average was in 1941 when Ted Williams hit .406. Before that, the last time anyone reached that mark was in 1930.
Since then, only a handful of players have come close to .400, like George Brett hitting .390 in 1980 and Tony Gwynn hitting .394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season.
If Judge can sustain his incredible pace, he could have a real shot at breaking the .400 mark for the first time in over 80 years.
Aaron Judge’s 2025 numbers are no fluke
Anyone who might have thought that Aaron Judge’s 2025 numbers are a statistical outlier would be proven wrong by the numbers themselves.
Last season, Judge hit .322 with a .701 slugging percentage and a 1.159 OPS. Those numbers have been consistent throughout his career. Since Judge's first full season in 2017, he has topped a 1.000 OPS four times, while racking up a .900 OPS three times. Judge hit .300 twice and boasts a .293 career average.
These have come alongside Judge’s monstrous power numbers. He hit 52 bombs in 2017, 62 in 2022 and 58 last season. His lowest home run total of nine came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he only played 28 games. If those totals are extrapolated for a full 162-game season, Judge would have bashed 52 roundtrippers.
The numbers suggest that his mind-boggling numbers this season are just a natural progression from an outstanding hitter to an MLB legend.
It remains to be seen if Judge can add a .400 batting average to his American League home run record.