The MVP chase we didn’t know we needed is now the playoff series we can’t wait to watch as a contrast in styles is about to commence.
When Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals meet Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series, there is so much to savor—at face value and below the surface.
The Royals have scratched and clawed their way back to relevance this season, earning a wild-card spot with a plus-91 run differential that was tied for second best in the American League.
The Yankees have assumed their spot back atop the American League heap, earning a No. 1 seed on their side of the bracket and returning to their Evil Empire identity, although it never really went away.
If Witt was charging toward superstar status when he signed an 11-year, $288.8-million contract extension in February, he has fully arrived now. If there was any thought the Royals were getting ahead of themselves after Witt showed a strong rookie campaign and one high-level season last year, those concerns are long gone.
Witt charged into the MVP conversation not only by hitting 32 home runs with 31 stolen bases and Gold Glove-worthy defense at shortstop; he was the main reason Kansas City was able to charge back to the playoffs after losing 106 games last season. The Royals have not reached the postseason since their 2015 title.
Yet, the reality is that Judge will be the American League MVP for the second time in three seasons on the back of a 58-homer, 144-RBI, 1.159-OPS season that was every bit as good as his 2022 season, minus the AL home-run record.
The Yankees were among the top MLB teams all season thanks to an offense that led baseball with 237 home runs and was tops in the AL with 815 runs scored and a .762 OPS. And while they are always viewed as an annual team to beat, New York will operate with something to prove after just three playoff victories over the previous three seasons.
Earlier this season, the Yankees won five of the seven games between the teams, including a four-game series at Kansas City in June when New York won three times.
Witt did not hit a home run against the Yankees this season, but he batted .367 with an .887 OPS. Judge hit one home run in six games against the Royals with a .250 batting average and a .708 OPS.
As far as the playoffs are concerned, Witt has established some momentum by helping the Royals to a 2-0 wild-card sweep against the Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City managed to pull off the two victories with just three total runs and Witt drove in one during each game.
“It’s pretty special to see what this team has done this year from what happened last year, and so now we’ve just got to keep doing it,” Witt said after the Royals advanced.
Judge has helped put the Yankees in the favorite role in the series, with home-field advantage to go along with it. But in the new era of expanded playoffs and three wild-card teams, division winners have been at something of a disadvantage.
The Royals and Detroit Tigers already have advanced to the division series with wild-card series wins on the road. Last season, a pair of wild-card teams in the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks played in the World Series. And in 2022, the wild-card Philadelphia Phillies, the lowest seed in the National League, were a World Series participant.
It sets up a scenario where Judge will get his MVP when the season ends, but Witt could end up getting what he would have preferred anyway if the Royals can advance past the Yankees and into the American League Champion Series.
“We’ve just got to take things one day at a time, one step at a time like we’ve been doing,” Witt said. “It’s unbelievable doing it for (Royals) fans, so I can’t wait to play a game (at home), but first we’ll go to New York.”
