“No Aaron Judge, no Yankees”; “Blowing smoke right now” – Fans back Yankees’ No.99 after Mariners president’s bold MVP remarks for Cal Raleigh

Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto made his feelings extremely clear, vouching for Cal Raleigh to win the American League Most Valuable Player award over New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge.

Speaking during the Mariners’ end of season press conference, Dipoto recognized Judge’s abilities and his contributions to the Yankees’ lineup, but felt Raleigh had edged him out in the MVP race.

“I think (Aaron Judge) is an unbelievable player – cruise into the Hall of Fame, first ballot,” Diploto said via Aaron Levine. “But I can’t imagine he did more to help his team get to where they needed to get to than Cal, on every front.”

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Here are a few reactions:

“Judge didnt have Julio carry the team for 2 months while he batted .180 like Cal did. No Judge, no Yankees in the playoffs. No Cal, M’s still make it,” a fan wrote.

@AaronLevine_ Judge didnt have julio carry the team for 2 months while he batted .180 like cal did. No judge, no yankees in the playoffs. No cal, Ms still make it

“Jerry Dipoto 110% does not want to pay Cal a bonus for winning MVP. So he’s blowing smoke right now,” a fan wrote.

@AaronLevine_ Jerry Dipoto 110% does not want to pay Cal a bonus for winning MVP. So he’s blowing smoke right now

“Alex, I’ll take “Things a GM has to say no matter what, but doesn’t believe” for $1000,” another fan said.

@AaronLevine_ Alex, I’ll take “Things a GM has to say no matter what, but doesn’t believe” for $1000.

“If you put Judge on the Mariners, it’s Seattle vs Dodgers. Put Cal on the Yankees, they miss the playoffs,” a fan opined.

@AaronLevine_ If you put judge on the mariners, it’s Seattle vs Dodgers. Put cal on the Yankees they miss the playoffs

“Get him a lie detector and ask him if he’d trade Cal for Judge,” a fan questioned.

@AaronLevine_ Get him a lie detector and ask him if he’d trade cal for judge

“Actually Rodriquez did more for the Mariners than Raleigh after the All-Star break,” another fan said.

@AaronLevine_ Actually Rodriquez did more for the Mariners than Raleigh after the all star break.

Both players broke multiple records this season. Aaron Judge, by winning the American League batting title, became the tallest person in MLB history to achieve the distinction. He led the MLB in slash line and in OPS. He had an MLB-high 9.7 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement).

Cal Raleigh led the American League in RBIs and home runs. He broke records for most home runs by a catcher and a switch hitter for the team. His 65 home run tally, regular season and postseason combined, broke the record for most homers in the American League, surpassing Judge’s tally from three years back.

The MVP awards are expected to be handed out on November 13, with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting for them.

Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge named finalists for Silver Slugger award

The MLB will award the best offensive players in each position in each league with the Silver Slugger award on November 9. On Thursday, the league announced its finalists for each position as well as a category for utility players.

Cal Raleigh is one of the finalist among the American League catcher. His teammates second baseman Jorge Polanco and outfielder Julio Rodríguez were also nominated.

The Yankees had four players named as finalists. Alongside Rodríguez, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger joined him as finalists in the outfielders position. Going up against Polanco was Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Ben Rice received a nomination in the utility category.

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Nikhil Parshy is a baseball and ice hockey journalist at Sportskeeda, and after starting out as a cricket reporter, he has been an analyst with SK since November 2022. His interest in the sports were piqued a few years back after watching highlights on YouTube and he has followed the game ever since.

The Chicago Cubs breaking the 108-year curse in 2016 to lift the World Series remains Nikhil’s favorite baseball moment. Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani has been his favorite player ever since he started following the game, while the LA Dodgers are his favorite team.

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