Yankees' Aaron Judge Calls Mariners' Cal Raleigh 'Fun to Watch' Amid AL MVP Race

Aaron Judge may be in the middle of an American League MVP race with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, but the New York Yankees star is still enjoying watching his counterpart play this season.

"It's not my job," Judge told reporters Tuesday when asked about the MVP discussion.

"I'm just going to keep going out there and doing my thing," he said. "But that's what makes it fun. It makes it fun for the fans, for you guys. Somebody like him doing his thing, leading the league in homers. Behind the plate, he's a backstop back there. It's fun to watch. It's good for the game and looking forward to more of that in the second half."

The Yankees slugger is the reigning American League MVP and also took home the award during the 2022 campaign. Injuries limited him to just 106 games in 2023, otherwise he might have been in position to win the award three times in a row.

He has once again been unbelievable in 2025 and is slashing .355/.462/.733 with 35 home runs, 81 RBI and six stolen bases. He is leading the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits (125), runs scored (85) and walks (69).

Thanks to those numbers, he is still considered a heavy favorite to win the coveted award.

As of Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET, Judge checks in at -650 odds (bet $650 to win $100) on DraftKings Sportsbook to take home the AL MVP. Raleigh is second at +370 (bet $100 to win $370) and is the only challenger with lower odds than +8,000.

In essence, it is a two-man race at the All-Star break with one contender still far ahead of the other.

But Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby on Monday, has some momentum for a Mariners team that is in playoff position as the final AL wild-card team in the current standings.

He is slashing .259/.376/.634 with 38 home runs, 82 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He leads the league in both home runs and RBI and is doing so all while playing one of the most physically demanding positions in the field at catcher.

Raleigh has some ground to make up in the race with Judge, but he has been a revelation for Seattle and is still a factor in an MVP race that hasn't yet been decided.