Is this the year that Cleveland Guardians’ Jose Ramirez will win the MVP award?

Ramirez leads Judge in four categories: doubles (39-36), triples (2-1), steals (41-10), and strikeouts (82-166).

However, one could argue that Ramirez is more important to his team than Judge. Consider this: in addition to Judge, the Yankees have seven other players who have hit 10 or more home runs. In addition to Ramirez, the Guardians have five players who have hit at least 10 home runs. Aside from Judge, the Yankees have six guys with at least 50 RBI. Besides Ramirez, the Guardians only have three players with 50 or more RBIs.

After Judge, the Yankees’ top three home run hitters are Juan Soto (41), Giancarlo Stanton (27), and Gleyber Torres (15), with a combined 83 home runs.

After Ramirez, the Guardians’ top three home run hitters are Josh Naylor (31), Steven Kwan (14), and David Fry (14), with a combined 59 home runs.

In other words, if Judge does not smash a home run in a close game, or any game for that matter, one of the other Yankees – Soto, Stanton, or Torres – is likely to do so.

If Ramirez does not hit a home run in a close game, it is more likely that one will not be hit than if the Yankees were in the same situation.

In Cleveland’s 4-3 loss to Houston on Saturday night, Ramirez hit his 39th home run of the season and drove in his 116th, 117th, and 118th runs.

The Guardians and Yankees may meet in the postseason, giving Judge and Ramirez the opportunity to make their closing points in this year’s MVP campaign.

Ramirez has a better durability record than Judge. Since becoming an everyday player in 2016, Ramirez has averaged 141 games per season. Since becoming an everyday player in 2017, Judge has averaged 121 games a season.

Both players have been selected to the All-Star team six times. Which player does the opposing pitcher fear the most? Let’s take a peek at their intentional walk totals. Judge has been intentionally walked 68 times in his career, averaging eight per season. Judge has been intentionally walked 20 times this season, the most in the league.

Ramirez has been intentionally walked 88 times in his career, for an average of ten per year. That statistic, however, may be more indicative of how unthreatening opposition pitchers see the hitters that follow Ramirez in Cleveland’s lineup.

For example, Ramirez led the American League in intentional walks with 20 in 2022 and 22 in 2023, when Cleveland’s lineup was easier to pitch around than it is now.

The hitters who follow Ramirez in the lineup this year have been better than in previous years, resulting in a substantial decrease in the amount of times Ramirez has been deliberately walked this year (12).

Ramirez is no stranger to MVP voting. He finished third in 2017 and 2018, second in 2020, sixth in 2021, fourth in 2022, and tenth in 2023. This season could be his final chance to win the major trophy.

The underlying truth, however, is that Judge’s dominant 2024 stat line – which leads the league in nine statistical categories – will almost certainly result in him winning his second MVP title.

However, in terms of which player’s team would suffer the most from the loss of its finest player, the loss of Ramirez would most certainly cripple Cleveland more than the loss of Judge would in New York.