According to most fans and media members, the American League MVP race was decided months ago when New York Yankees star Aaron Judge separated from the pack after going on a historic tear that put him in contention for the Triple Crown.
Now that Judge has cooled off, one MLB insider believes the award is now a “coin flip” between Judge and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
“I think Witt is a very viable candidate. If there was East Coast bias, I’d be telling you Aaron Judge is the clear MVP winner. I don’t see it,” Jon Heyman of MLB Network said on “Bleacher Report Walk-Off.”
.@JonHeyman thinks the AL MVP is a ‘coin flip’ 🤔 pic.twitter.com/iR6YGuAMj2
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) September 11, 2024
Heyman said Judge has been fantastic and the best hitter in the game, but Witt has made it a close race, even though oddsmakers don’t see it that way.
“To me, this one is a coin flip,” Heyman said.
He pointed out that Witt leads the majors in batting average, hits and runs scored and is now neck-and-neck with Judge in WAR.
Even though Heyman acknowledged that Judge is likely to win, he said this should be a much closer race than fans believe.
Judge has scuffled in September, slashing .176/.300/.235 in the month, and has not hit a home run since Aug. 25.
He still has incredible season-long numbers, but Witt’s are historically great as well, and he’s on pace to play every game and help the Royals to an improbable playoff appearance.
It’ll be interesting to see if Judge can get hot again and put this race to bed or if Witt can keep cooking and make things even more interesting down the stretch.
