Yoshinobu Yamamoto Honored with Babe Ruth Award; Aaron Judge Wins New York Player of the Year for the Fifth Time

Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers received the Babe Ruth Award as the most valuable player of the playoffs from the New York chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and New York Yankees power hitter Aaron Judge earned the Sid Mercer/Dick Young New York Player of the Year Award for the fifth occasion.

In five starts and one relief appearance during the playoffs, Yamamoto posted a 5-1 record with a 1.45 ERA, helping the Dodgers become the first team since the Yankees from 1998-2000 to successfully defend their World Series title. He pitched a three-run shutout in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, marking the first complete game in the postseason in eight years; then he threw a four-run shutout in the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, becoming the first pitcher in a decade to complete a World Series game.

Aaron Judge led the entire Major League this year with a .331 batting average and an overall OPS of 1.145, hitting 53 home runs and driving in 114 runs. He was named the American League MVP for the second consecutive year and the third time in four years. Judge had previously won the New York Player of the Year Award in 2017, 2021, 2022, and 2024.

The awards ceremony will take place on January 24 during the 101st annual dinner of the chapter. Pete Alonso, who is leaving the New York Mets after seven years to join the Baltimore Orioles, will receive the Joe DiMaggio Toast of the Town Award. Alonso holds the Mets’ franchise record with 264 home runs, surpassing the previous record holder Darryl Strawberry by 12.

The starting rotation of the Mets who won the franchise’s most recent World Series championship in 1986—Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda, and Sid Fernandez—will be honored with the Willie, Mickey and the Duke Award to commemorate the 40th anniversary of that title.

Jesse Orosco, who contributed 21 saves that year and struck out Marty Barrett in the final inning of Game 7 to clinch the series, will receive the Casey Stengel You Could Look It Up Award in recognition of his career record of 1,252 appearances.

Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, teammates who played for the Yankees from 1976 to 1988 and won two championships together, will be awarded the William J. Slocum/Jack Lang Award for long-term outstanding service; while Don Mattingly, a star player for the Yankees from 1982 to 1995, will receive the Arthur and Milton Richman You Gotta Have Heart Award.

Yankees pitcher Carlos Rodón and his wife Ashley will be honored with the Joan Payson/Shannon Forde Award for Community Service for their foundation's work assisting couples facing infertility and pregnancy challenges.

Clay Holmes, a pitcher who recently moved from the Yankees to the Mets, will be presented with the Ben Epstein/Dan Castellano Good Guy Award for his proactive cooperation with the media.