Overview
- Shohei Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes to claim his fourth MVP and third in a row, joining Barry Bonds as the only players with at least four.
- Aaron Judge won a tight American League vote 17–13 in first-place ballots over Cal Raleigh, finishing 355–335 for his third career MVP and second straight.
- Cal Raleigh led MLB with 60 home runs, setting single-season marks for a catcher and a switch-hitter, and drove in 125 runs while catching most of the year.
- Ohtani paired elite offense with a midseason return to the mound, hitting 55 homers and posting a 2.87 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 47 innings across 14 starts.
- BBWAA ballots were submitted before the postseason; Kyle Schwarber finished second and Juan Soto third in the NL, and both MVPs repeated from 2024.