In 2017, a rookie Aaron Judge clubbed 52 home runs for a playoff-bound Yankees team that climbed out of the middle of the American League the year prior to eventually surge to the ALCS. A hulking rookie coming off hitting .179 in 84 at-bats the year prior would normally be the most exciting story in the league, and that narrative sounds like a guaranteed MVP ... for any non-Yankee, of course.
Instead, writers looked for any excuse they could to ignore that Judge had both the statistical and story-telling advantage. Ultimately, the vote went to Jose Altuve.