Cal

Raleigh

Judge received 17 of 30 first-place votes to narrowly edge Cal Raleigh in one of the most compelling MVP races in recent memory, capturing the award for the second straight season and third time in his career. The 33-year-old Yankees icon led the majors with 10.1 WAR (per FanGraphs) while slashing .331/.457/.688 with 53 homers and 114 RBI across 152 games. Raleigh garnered the remaining 13 first-place votes to finish as the runner-up after delivering one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a catcher, launching a record-setting 60 homers over 159 contests. José Ramírez finished a distant third, just ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. in AL MVP Award balloting.

Judge takes home a silver slugger for the fifth time in his career. He joins Byron Buxton and Riley Greene in the outfield in taking home the award. The full list of winners: Cal Raleigh (C), Nick Kurtz (1B), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), José Ramírez (3B), Judge (OF), Buxton (OF) and Greene (OF) and George Springer (DH).

Judge and Raleigh headline one of the most compelling AL MVP races in recent memory, with both franchise cornerstones building hardware-worthy cases. Raleigh crushed a major league-leading 60 home runs, shattering nearly every single-season offensive record imaginable for a catcher. Meanwhile, Judge is aiming to capture the award for the third time in four years after eclipsing the 50-homer plateau once again and finishing with a major league-best .331/.457/.688 slash line. Ramírez remains one of the game’s most underappreciated superstars, earning a top-three finish in MVP voting for the fourth time in his 13-year career. The winner will be announced on Thursday, November 13.

It looked like Raleigh was going to get his signature October moment when he took Blue Jays workhorse reliever Louis Varland deep in the fifth inning to extend Seattle’s lead to 3-1 at the time. It was his fifth round-tripper of the postseason. Unfortunately, the Mariners’ bullpen was unable to preserve the lead and Raleigh was left in the on-deck circle when teammate Julio Rodríguez went down swinging in the ninth inning to end the series. It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Mariners as they fall just shy of making the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 49-year history.

Naylor, who is batting .341 (15-for-44) with three homers this postseason, has been moved up in Seattle’s lineup with Jorge Polanco dropped to the cleanup spot as they attempt to make the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 49-year history. The only other significant change involves Victor Robles in right field instead of Dominc Canzone. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Naylor (1B), Polanco (DH), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Leo Rivas (2B) and Robles (RF).

Well, hopefully he got all of that out of his system. Raleigh’s one instance of contact was the double play ball with the bases loaded on the first pitch of his at-bat against Trey Yesavage in the third. It was his first GIDP of the postseason and his first ever with the bases loaded since he debuted in 2021.

With the Mariners in danger of falling 3-2, Raleigh dumped a pitch from Brendon Little into the left field bleachers to tie the game. Seattle ended up scoring the next four on a Eugenio Suárez grand slam, and it gives Seattle the one-game cushion in the series. A chance for Raleigh to add to his postseason homer total — four so far — and a chance to clinch a trip to the World Series comes Sunday in Toronto.

Rivas started in Game 4 with Victor Robles shifting to the bench and that’s the same alignment that the M’s will use against Kevin Gausman on Friday evening. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Dominic Canzone (RF) and Rivas (2B).

Rivas will get his first postseason start with a struggling Victor Robles heading to the bench as Seattle tries to mix some things up following a Game 3 rout at the hands of the Blue Jays. Here’s the full lineup: Randy Arozarena (LF), Cal Raleigh (C), Julio Rodríguez (CF), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Eugenio Suárez (3B), Dominic Canzone (RF), J.P. Crawford (SS) and Rivas (2B).

Even in a game where the Mariners were hammered, Raleigh was able to hit another bomb; his second of the ALCS and third of the postseason. He just needed to hit nine more of them and the Mariners woulda tied it up. Raleigh will assuredly hit second and be behind the plate for Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday.