THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 14, 2022 at 17:15 JST
New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge bats during a workout ahead of Game 1 of baseball’s American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Oct. 10, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo)
NEW YORK--Aaron Judge was chosen major league player of the year by Baseball Digest and eBay after setting an American League record with 62 home runs.
The New York Yankees slugger beat out two-way star Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, last year’s winner and the reigning AL MVP.
Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara was picked as pitcher of the year and New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz was voted the top reliever in awards announced Thursday.
Judge received 18 first-place votes in balloting by a 22-member panel of baseball writers and broadcasters that included several former players, managers and executives.
The other four first-place votes went to Ohtani for another remarkable season on the mound and at the plate. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt finished third.
Judge broke the AL mark of 61 home runs established by Yankees outfielder Roger Maris in 1961, helping New York to the AL East title.
A four-time All-Star and the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year, the 30-year-old Judge also led the majors in runs (133), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686), OPS (1.111), extra-base hits (90) and total bases (391). He tied Mets slugger Pete Alonso for most RBIs with 131 and finished second in the AL batting race with a .311 average to Minnesota’s Luis Arraez (.316).
In the 54-year history of Baseball Digest’s player of the year award, the only other Yankees to win were pitcher Ron Guidry (1978) and shortstop Derek Jeter (2006).
Judge can become a free agent after the World Series.
MLB/ Yankees overcome Ohtani’s 2 HRs, slug past Angels 11-5
June 30, 2021
MLB/ Yankees star Judge hits 62nd homer to break Maris’ AL record
October 5, 2022
MLB/ Judge hits 51st HR as Yankees snap skid, top Angels 7-4
August 31, 2022
BASEBALL/ Ex-Yankee Masahiro Tanaka loses in return to Japan
April 18, 2021
MLB/ Angels overcome Aaron Judge’s 50th homer to edge Yanks
August 30, 2022
MLB/ Shohei Ohtani hits No. 42 as Angels edge Yankees
August 31, 2021
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
