AL’ RISE!

Judge’s high value to team didn’t sway vote

Getting to watch Jose Altuve up close during the ALCS against the Yankees only added to my appreciation for everything he can do on the baseball field, leaving no doubt that he’s a deserving winner of the American League MVP Award. But I did think the vote would be closer. Certainly the difference in performance between Altuve and Aaron Judge wasn’t nearly as wide as the gap in voting, as the Astros’ second baseman received 27 of the 30 first-place votes.

Judge received two of the remaining firstplace votes, with Indians’ second baseman Jose Ramirez getting the other, as well as 27 second-place votes, to finish second overall, and obviously that’s quite an accomplishment, especially for a rookie who had to earn a starting job in spring training.

Nevertheless, I believe Judge was more valuable to the Yankees than Altuve was to the Astros, and if I had a vote it would have gone to the 6-foot-7 slugger.

Simply put, I believe voters underestimated the impact that Judge had, with his historic first half that changed everything for the Yankees’ season, as well as a spectacular September.

Instead I think they chose Altuve for a couple of reasons:

First, he was more consistent, putting up big numbers for the Astros from start to finish, leading the way for an offense that finished first in the majors in runs scored.

Judge, meanwhile, had that six-week slump during which he looked helpless at times, while striking out at least once in a majorleague record 37 straight games.

Secondly, Altuve had the better clutch stats. Specifically, he put up phenomenal numbers in the “late & close” category, which is defined as the seventh inning or later with a one-run lead, the game tied, or behind with at least the tying run on deck.

In those 70 plate appearances, Altuve hit .441 with three home runs, as well as a .529 on-base percentage and a .661 slugging percentage, adding up to a 1.190 OPS.

By comparison, in 100 such plate appearances Judge also hit three home runs but had a slash line of .215/.380/.380/.760.

That’s a pretty dramatic difference, and Altuve did better in other clutch-related stats as well, so in a race where both players had such impressive overall numbers, those matter.

Then there’s the human factor: everybody loves Altuve, the little guy, proving that even at 5-foot-6 he can be one of the best players in baseball. He’s a walking inspiration for kids everywhere, and one of the good guys in the game as well.

So maybe sentiment played a part, but Altuve proved his greatness in the postseason, after the MVP voting was done. He hit seven home runs in 18 games, putting up a 1.021 OPS, while making great plays with his glove at second base and helping win games with his speed as well.

Bottom line, it’s a feel-good story, Altuve overcoming the size stigma, going all the way back to his teenage years in Venezuela, when the Astros sent him home from their tryout camp, telling him he was too small and, besides, they didn’t believe he was 16, the mandatory age to participate.

As Altuve has told the story, his father urged him to go back the next day with his birth certificate, and he wound up convincing the Astros to take chance on him for a $15,000 signing bonus.

And, to be honest, as an undersized middle-infielder in college a million years ago, I can’t help but root for Altuve, and love the idea of him winning the MVP. I was even right for a change in our Daily News preseason predictions, picking him as the winner.

Yet, as I’ve said, I believe Judge had the most impact on any team in the American League.

After all, without his astonishing power show early in the first couple of months, the Yankees never would have gotten off to the 21-9 start that instilled a confident vibe in the clubhouse and changed everything about their season.

Indeed, without Judge’s production, and the promise of more, GM Brian Cashman almost certainly wouldn’t have been as willing to deal prospects for reinforcements come July that played such an important role for the Yankees down the stretch.

Not that other Yankees weren’t vitally important as well, especially Didi Gregorius, but to some degree the Yankees’ season correlated with Judge’s ups and downs. In April and September they were a combined 35-16, playing their best baseball with the big guy’s hot bat leading the way.

And while the bullpen’s struggles derailed them at times through the middle of the season, their 28-27 record in July and August was owed largely to his second-half slump. inally, Judge pulled out of that slump to hit 15 home runs in September, raising his total to 52 and helping the Yankees push the Red Sox to the second-to-last day of the season in the AL East race. I thought that strong finishing kick would get him more than two first-place votes. That it didn’t is no crime, to be sure. Just a bit surprising.

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