Two months into the MLB season, the American League MVP award seemed all locked up. Just before the end of May, Aaron Judge’s batting average dipped under .400 for the first time.
He had already belted 21 home runs in his first 57 games, resulting in an OPS over 1.200. Even with four months to go in the MLB season, it seemed like all of baseball knew Judge was going to win the AL MVP in 2025.
Out west, Cal Raleigh was also having a career start to his season. Five home runs in the final week of May meant he had overtaken Judge in homers with 22, and he had gotten his OPS over 1.