Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers won his fourth MLB MVP award, and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees won his third MLB MVP award.
Published November 14, 2025
While Shohei Ohtani’s greatness was reaffirmed, Cal Lowry learned that even a season by the best catcher in Major League history couldn’t stop Aaron Judge from adding an MVP award to his trophy case.
Minutes after Ohtani won his third straight MVP award and fourth in the past five years, Judge was announced as the American League MVP on Thursday night in a close vote with Lowry.
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Ohtani and Judge became the first pair to win Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.
The New York Yankees outfielder received 17 of the 30 first-place votes and earned 355 points. The Seattle Mariners catcher received the remaining 13 first-place votes and finished with 335 points.
In the end, Baseball Writers of America voters decided that Judge’s MLB-leading batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457) and slugging percentage (.688) were better than Lowry’s AL-best 60 home runs and 125 RBIs.
“It’s pretty wild,” the judge said. “I try not to think about it during the season. I just keep my head down throughout the 162 games and try to do whatever I can in today’s game to help the team win.”
This is the third MVP award for the 33-year-old Judge. So he ends up living in an upscale neighborhood where Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Mike Trout and a few others live, but Ohtani no longer lives there.
The 31-year-old Japanese native received all 30 first-place votes for National League MVP.
Ohtani earned his latest honor after accumulating a career-high 55 home runs, a majors-best 146 RBIs, and a National League-best slugging percentage of .622 and OPS of 1.014 in 158 games.
He also returned to the mound after an 18-month break and started 14 games, compiling a 1-1 record with a 2.87 ERA. He had 62 strikeouts in 47 innings, but gave up just nine walks.
“It’s been a great year,” Ohtani said through an interpreter on MLB Network. “Like I said, I’m grateful to my teammates and coaching staff…but it’s not just them. It’s the fans who have really cheered us on and supported us.”
Ohtani hit eight home runs in 17 postseason games and led the Dodgers to their second straight World Series title, but his playoff accomplishments were not counted in the BBWAA voting.
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber appeared in all 162 games, hitting a league-high 56 home runs and driving in 132 RBIs, finishing second in the voting. He was followed by New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (43 home runs, 38 stolen bases), Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Gerardo Perdomo (.290 batting average, 20 home runs, 100 RBIs, 27 stolen bases), and Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (league-leading .304 batting average, 36 stolen bases).
In the American League, Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (30 home runs, 44 stolen bases) was a distant third.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (23 home runs, 38 stolen bases) and Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal, who won his second straight Cy Young Award with a record of 13 wins and 6 losses and a 2.21 ERA, rounded out the top five.
