Aaron Decide was named the American League’s Most Worthwhile Participant unanimously on Thursday, capturing all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America.
Decide’s second MVP — two years after his first, when he beat out present Nationwide League MVP favourite Shohei Ohtani in 2022 — got here on the heels of one of many biggest offensive seasons in baseball historical past.
Decide led the majors in homers (58), RBIs (144), OPS (1.159) and FanGraphs wins above substitute (11.2) in a 2024 season that noticed the 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger spend most of his time in heart discipline and lead the New York Yankees to a pennant. Decide’s 223 adjusted OPS was the very best amongst right-handed hitters since 1900, in response to ESPN Analysis. He grew to become the third participant ever with at the least 50 homers and an adjusted OPS of 200 or extra, becoming a member of Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.
Bobby Witt Jr., the Kansas Metropolis Royals’ younger famous person shortstop, acquired all 30 second-place votes. Decide’s Yankee counterpart, present free agent Juan Soto, completed third. Decide is the seventh Yankee to win a number of MVPs, becoming a member of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Alex Rodriguez and Roger Maris. Earlier than Decide, Mantle’s 1956 season was the one one in Yankees historical past to yield a unanimous MVP.
Since his first full season in 2017, when he was named AL Rookie of the 12 months and completed second in MVP voting, Decide leads the majors in FanGraphs wins above substitute (51.4), weighted runs created plus (176), slugging proportion (.611) and residential runs (311) regardless of lacking important time in three of these eight seasons. He broke the AL house run file in 2022, going deep 62 occasions, however he was higher in virtually each different offensive class in 2024, slashing .322/.458/.701 whereas hitting behind Soto.
Of Decide’s 58 house runs, a whopping 23 gave his crew the lead. However his season led to bitter disappointment. The Yankees misplaced to the Los Angeles Dodgers within the World Sequence, with Decide going 4-for-18 and making a key error within the decisive Sport 5. A tough October apart, Decide’s MVP victory had lengthy appeared apparent. So apparent, maybe, that the opposite two finalists, Witt and Soto, didn’t even seem on MLB Community’s award presentation.
Yankees legend Derek Jeter was known as on to announce Decide because the winner.
