Yankees slugger was crowned AL Most Valuable Player on Thursday night, beating out Shohei Ohtani of the Angels and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros
The MVP honor caps a season that started with tumult around contract negotiations with the Yankees as he entered the final year of his deal. Judge set a self-imposed deadline of Opening Day to negotiate a potential extension, but the sides failed to come to an agreement. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman then took an unusual step in publicly revealing the terms of the contract the team offered Judge -- an eight-year, $230.5 million extension.
The season started relatively slowly for Judge, as he hit six homers in 75 at-bats in April. But once the calendar turned to May, Judge took off. The Yankees outfielder hit 12 homers that month, 11 in June, 13 in July, nine in August and 10 in September before hitting No. 62 on the final day of the season in October. The 157 games Judge played during 2022 were his most since his rookie season, the previous best year of his career by bWAR .
Judge's consistency from month to month served as the backbone for a New York offense that at points struggled to stay healthy and produce around him. By the end of the season, it ranked second behind the Dodgers in baseball, scoring 807 runs. As Judge approached Roger Maris' AL record of 61 homers, each of his at-bats became an event. At games both at Yankee Stadium and on the road, fans stood up every time he stepped into the batter's box and remained there for every single pitch. Members of the Yankees jostled for spots on the top step of the dugout to get a spot to watch their teammate potentially make history.
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