Baseball's schedule makers delivered us a good one.
Here's an idea: For the three-game New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners series beginning Tuesday night, let's just allow Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh to take every single plate appearance.
They're the two best players, and hitters, in the American League. And less than a week before they each take the field in Atlanta to start the All-Star Game, they get a fun midweek clash.
These games could have an impact both on the AL MVP race and the home run race. It certainly shapes up to be a blast.
Entering the series, Raleigh and Judge each have slight legs up in different categories.
Raleigh leads in home runs, 35 to 33.
The pair are tied in RBI, 74-74.
Judge is batting .360 to Raleigh's .268 and leads in OPS, 1.202 to 1.021.
The catcher Raleigh leads in steals, 9 to 6.
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They do it a bit differently.
Judge is a 6-foot-7 right-handed hitter with a bit of an open stance.
Raleigh is a 6-foot-2 switch-hitter who has slugged double-digit homers from both sides of the plate.
Judge has been one of the American League's best sluggers for most of his career.
Raleigh has gotten better every season, to the point that he already has set his career-high in home runs with his 35, beating last season's full-campaign 34.
Judge leads Raleigh in Wins Above Replacement by multiple calculations, but Raleigh has the always-tricky-to-measure catcher defense. Last season, Raleigh won the Platinum Glove as the best defender in the league for any position, so he adds superstar defense at the crucial catching position to everything else he does well.
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If Raleigh keeps hitting like this, he'll turn into the trendy MVP pick, a chance to vote for someone other than Judge.
Raleigh has another path to the MVP, too. It's called the American League single-season home run record.
Judge holds that right now, at 62, having broken Roger Maris' 61 mark a couple seasons ago.
If one of these hitters gets to 63 home runs, that'll go a long way toward the MVP.
So sure, a three-game set in mid-July won't decide any of these races.
But seeing these two giants of the game on the same field will be special, just as these entire seasons have been so special for Judge and Raleigh. Don't take this duo for granted.
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Category: Baseball
