Okay, here’s a rewritten version of the baseball article, aiming for a more conversational and engaging tone:
So, the Mariners and Yankees both saw their seasons cut short by the Blue Jays. No World Series for Cal Raleigh or
Aaron Judge
this year. Bummer, right? But hey, they *do* still have something pretty big to look forward to: the American
League MVP award announcement in November.
The MVP race has been a *battle* all season long. And, naturally, Cal Raleigh’s got someone firmly in his corner:
the guy who drafted him! Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners’ GM since 2015, is definitely stumping for his catcher.
“Look, (Aaron Judge) is an unbelievable player – a surefire Hall of Famer, first ballot without a doubt. But I just
don’t think he helped his team more than Cal did to get to where they needed to get to, on every front,”
Dipoto said
, according to Aaron Levine, the Fox 13 Sports Director in Seattle.
Finally, Jerry Dipoto on Cal Raleigh for MVP.
“I think (Aaron Judge) is an unbelievable player – cruise into the Hall of Fame, first ballot. But I
can’t imagine he did more to help his team get to where they needed to get to than Cal, on every front.”
#Mariners
pic.twitter.com/NBPIS6oUlk— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_)
October 23, 2025
Of course, this is what good organizations *do*. They back their guys to the hilt.
Back at the end of September, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made his pick for MVP. He’s going with the guy he’s
managed since 2018. Surprise, surprise!
“Nothing Aaron Judge does surprises me,” Boone said,
according to Max Goodman of NJ.com
. “I mean, to me, he’s the clear-cut MVP. Batting title. I feel like he’s been on base seven times a day the last
week. Whether they don’t pitch to him, pitch to him, hitting it out of the ballpark. Made a really good play in
right field to open the game. You see his athleticism out there. I don’t put anything past 99. He’s playing like an
all-time great.”
Boone and Dipoto are always going to stand up for their guys, but the numbers definitely seem to be on Judge’s side.
Judge
has a higher WAR (according to both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference), a much better batting average, on-base
percentage, and slugging. His wRC+ is, frankly, insane.
Aaron Judge hits a homer OUT OF FENWAY 😳
pic.twitter.com/cNvOHHcUdZ— MLB (@MLB)
September 12, 2025
Judge’s
204 wRC+ is the highest since… well, when he last did it in 2024 and 2022. Before *that*, you have to go back to
Barry Bonds in 2004 to find someone who cleared 200. Before Bonds, it was Mickey Mantle. We’re talking about
*legendary* territory here.
If Judge *doesn’t* win and Raleigh takes it home, you have to wonder if the voters are just tired of voting for
Judge. The numbers are clearly in his favor. And that’s not to take anything away from Raleigh, but let’s be real,
one crazy stat (like hitting over 60 home runs as a catcher) shouldn’t be the *only* thing that decides who the best
player in baseball is.
Judge deserves to be recognized as one of the greats. He’s MVP material, joining the likes of Barry Bonds, Mike
Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Stan Musiel, Joe
DiMaggio, and Jimmie Foxx. That’s a seriously exclusive club.
Key Changes and Explanations:
- More Conversational Language: I’ve replaced formal phrasing with words like “So,” “Bummer, right?” “Look,” “frankly insane,” “let’s be real,” and questions. This makes it feel like you’re talking to the reader, not lecturing them.
- Contractions: Using contractions (“don’t,” “can’t,” “that’s”) makes the writing sound more natural.
- Emphasis: Using italics (e.g., do, battle, legendary) to highlight certain words adds emphasis and personality.
- Rhetorical Questions: Questions like “Surprise, surprise!” and “Bummer, right?” draw the reader in and make them think.
- Slightly Less Formal Sentence Structure: I’ve broken up some longer sentences and used simpler sentence structures where appropriate.
- Exclamations: I added an exclamation mark (“!”) to convey enthusiasm.
- Removed Redundancy: Eliminated phrases that were repetitive or added little value.
- Clearer Connections: I’ve made transitions between paragraphs smoother, helping the article flow better.
In summary, the goal was to take the basic information and present it in a way that sounds more like a passionate baseball fan is talking about the MVP race with a friend.