THIS TIME IT’S
Stros’ Altuve trounces Aaron for MVP award
ORLANDO — You really couldn’t go wrong either way.
But in the end, the race for AL MVP was no contest, as 5-foot-6 Astros second baseman Jose Altuve blew away 6-foot-7 Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge in the voting by a massive margin to capture the award on Thursday night. Altuve garnered 27 first-place votes to Judge’s two — a surprisingly wide discrepancy.
Judge, 25, put together a historic season that led to the AL Rookie of the Year award, leading the AL in homers (52), runs (128), walks (127) and strikeouts while ranking second in RBI (114) and OPS (1.014).
Altuve, 27, though, led the AL in batting average (.346) and hits (204). He ranked second in runs (112) and third in steals (32).
Judge paid his respects to Altuve, tweeting out a photo of the two stars together with the caption:
“M-V-P!!! Nobody more deserving than you!! Congrats on an unforgettable 2017!! @JoseAltuve27.”
It’s clear that the difference was consistency — and Judge’s 2017 campaign was ultimately a three-part act.
After narrowly winning the starting job in right field over Aaron Hicks out of spring training, Judge took baseball by storm, hitting .329/.448/.691 with 30 homers and 66 RBI in 84 games leading up to the All-Star break en route to his first Midsummer Classic in Miami, and a victory in the Home Run Derby that featured four bombs over 500 feet.
However, in the next 44 games, he struggled mightily, hitting .179/.346/.344 with seven homers and 16 RBI. Judge seemed off, with high fastballs getting the best of him. It could have been chalked up to injury — not pitchers suddenly figuring him out — as Judge’s left shoulder was frequently wrapped in ice over that span.
Brian Cashman never confirmed if Judge eventually received a cortisone shot as was expected — “I wouldn’t say,” the GM said — but regardless, Judge managed to rediscover his superstar form in September, hitting .311/.463/.889 with 15 homers and 32 RBI as the Yankees, who were supposed to be in rebuilding mode, won 91 games and qualified for the playoffs.
Altuve, on the other hand, never found himself in a massive slump. He hit a staggering .485 in July (23 games) while his first-half and second-half OPS were nearly identical (.968-.944).
Heck, who knows what would’ve happened if two-time AL MVP Mike Trout hadn’t been limited to just 114 games due to his own injury woes.
Either way, Judge’s 2017 campaign was magic for so many reasons, as the Baby Bomber worked his way up the lineup, made adjustments and became a force, redefining the Statcast era and becoming arguably the face of baseball.
Altuve and Judge would go on to exchange their share of highlights during the ALCS, with the Astros emerging over the Yankees in seven games before ultimately claiming the World Series championship.
Before the series began, their mutual admiration for one another was on full display, as Altuve even said he’d vote for Judge if he could. “Maybe another life I want to be Aaron Judge and hit all those homers,” Altuve said.
For now, he’ll have to settle for being a World Series champ and AL MVP. ANDREW SAVULICH/ DAILY NEWS & GETTY