In the American League, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees' fourth three-time Most Valuable Player winner, edging Seattle's Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher.

The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout topped Houston's Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019.

Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers.

• Watch: Aaron Judge learns he's won the AL MVP yet again

When asked about his place in MLB and Yankees lore, Judge acknowledged he's in rare company.

"It's tough for me to wrap my head around," Judge said. "It's mind blowing from my side of things, because I play this game to win, I play this game for my teammates, my family, all the fans in New York."

Later he added: "You've got to pinch yourself every single day. It's truly an incredible honor."

Judge is the first AL player to win back-to-back MVPs since Detroit's Miguel Cabrera it in 2012 and 2013.

Raleigh, nicknamed "Big Dumper," led the big leagues with 60 homers, the most for a player primarily a catcher. He started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated hitter.

The 28-year-old also had a career-high 125 RBIs, leading the Mariners to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Judge said he got to know Raleigh a little during the All-Star break and the catcher asked for some leadership tips.

"Cal's a special player," Judge said. "I could sit here and talk all night about the player he is, but really the kind of leader and person he is really stuck out to me at the All-Star Game."

Cleveland's José Ramírez finished third in the AL.