MVP Soapbox: Mauer Proved Catchers Can Win MVP - So Why Won’t MLB Admit It’s Basically a Best Hitter Award Now?

When Will MLB Admit "MVP" No Longer Means What It Used To?

For more than a century, the Most Valuable Player award has claimed to honor the player whose presence most directly shapes wins, stabilizes a roster, and elevates a team's ceiling. At least, that's what the name suggests. However, in recent years, MVP voting has steadily shifted towards a narrower interpretation: rewarding the most intimidating hitter with the best highlight-friendly offensive totals. And while elite offense certainly matters, this modern approach completely overlooks the layers of value that only certain positions, especially catchers, bring to a team.

This disconnect has become especially glaring when viewed through the lens of two seasons separated by 16 years: Joe Mauer's 2009 AL MVP campaign, and the model of value embodied in 2025 by Cal Raleigh. Mauer proved that a catcher could win MVP not simply by out-slugging the competition; in fact, history shows he did not do that. Instead, he demonstrated that he was the most indispensable player on the diamond. If that standard still held, Raleigh would likely have taken home the hardware this year. Instead, MLB's voting trends suggest that "value" has become shorthand for "best offensive season."

So, if MLB is unwilling to recognize the full spectrum of value that the MVP award claims to measure, the league should finally admit what voters have turned it into: a Most Valuable Offensive Player contest - nothing more.

Mauer's 2009 MVP: A Gold Standard for True Value

In 2009, Joe Mauer's offensive production was at a historically elite level for a catcher, as he led the league in batting average (.365) and on-base percentage (.444) while slugging a career-high 28 home runs. It was the only season he topped 20 homers and had an OPS over .950. Mauer also took home the Silver Slugger award as well as a Gold Glove for his defense behind the plate. Overall, it is considered one of the single finest seasons by a catcher ever.

While his 2009 offensive numbers were a significant factor in winning the AL MVP award, Mauer didn't lead the league in two major offensive categories that are now the gold standard for MVP consideration: runs batted in and home runs. 2009 MVP runner-up Mark Teixeira out-slugged Mauer with 39 homers and 122 RBIs - both tops in the American League. Teixeira also batted .292, nothing to sniff at as far as a batting average for a consistent power hitter. Mauer's 96 RBI, also a career high, and his home run totals pale in comparison to Teixeira's. Miguel Cabrera, fourth in MVP voting that year, batted .324 with 34 home runs and 103 RBI - a well-rounded, albeit regular, season for Cabrera.

Why are we talking about this? So what if Mauer didn't win the Triple Crown for batting in 2009? That is precisely my point. MVP hasn't always been about pure offensive impact. Mauer's batting title certainly helped his case, but it is rare for a batting champion to win the MVP solely on batting average - there is far more to the story than offense generated.

Catcher is regarded as a premium fielding position due to its responsibilities and is widely recognized as the most demanding and challenging spot on the field. WAR (wins above replacement) for a catcher is historically undervalued - an issue that has been discussed since the statistic came about in the late 1980s. Mauer's WAR in 2009 was 7.8 - the highest of his 15-year career. WAR, as you may or may not know, is calculated by considering a player's offensive contributions, baserunning, as well as their defensive contributions, so when we see Mauer's 7.8, you can make a safe assumption that the actual value of his WAR that season is actually much higher. Why? Intangibles.

Mauer's Gold Glove defense in 2009 included more than throwing a runner out here or there - it included framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, game-calling, and staff leadership - most of which do not appear in the stat line anywhere. Catchers control more of the game than most fans, or even players, are willing to admit, and their impact is widely felt. The Minnesota Twins were markedly different without Mauer in the field - not unlike Byron Buxton's 2025 season with the club. The lineup lost a step, as did the defense, in both regards. Mauer impacted his team and made them better - the very description of what the MVP award should be. It wasn't just his batting average that year that brought home the award; it was his multi-dimensional value that he provided as a catcher.

Raleigh's 2025 MVP Case

Alright, let's turn to the 2025 AL MVP award. I'll start by saying that yes, Aaron Judge had a great offensive season. I in no way want to diminish that. He absolutely deserves the Hank Aaron Award - the award for the best offensive performer in each league. A brief side note: Byron Buxton finished as the runner-up in that category after his impressive 2025 season - despite batting just .264 on the year. Average isn't everything, according to that award.

Judge won the batting title and led the league in most offensive slugging categories. Most, but not all. Nevertheless, kudos to him on a monumental season, but the Baseball Writers' Association of America got the MVP voting wrong by awarding it to him. He is a corner outfielder who played a lot of DH this year - 56 games to be precise - which means he was in the field for just 95 of his 152 games played. This is good for just over 62% of Judge's games in which he played defense.

Cal Raleigh clubbed 60 home runs this season, a record for a primary catcher and tops in all of MLB in 2025. He also led the American League with 125 RBI. In 159 games, Raleigh batted .247 with 147 hits and 24 doubles. We could also note that he is a switch-hitter. Raleigh caught in 121 of his 159 games played in 2025 - good for 76% of his games played having him on the field. In all, his 2025 campaign far exceeds the typical offensive contribution of catchers around the league - this should immediately elevate MVP consideration, but, as we've already covered, offense is only a part of the story in the historical definition of the MVP award.

Cal Raleigh's defense is often touted as the factor that should have delivered him the MVP award, and I agree. While his base runners caught stealing percentage dropped this year, and his framing metrics dipped slightly, something he attributes to the changes in the strike zone this year, his overall defensive metrics are good. The Mariners' backstop (and 2024 Gold/Platinum Glover) caught 1,072 innings in 2025, during which he posted a .996 fielding percentage. Raleigh allowed exactly zero passed balls in the regular season. That is right. ZERO. The only one that got by him was in Game 5 of the ALDS. While these defensive contributions are great, one stat often falls through the cracks, revealing the heart of Raleigh's MVP value to his team: his pitching ERA.

Yahoo!Sports recently reported (originally from The Sporting News) in late September that the Seattle Mariners starting pitching ERA dropped by nearly an entire run when Raleigh was behind the plate. Here is the breakdown from the original Tweet on X:

This is nothing short of astounding. What is clear is that Raleigh makes his team better when he is on the field, not just when he is providing power from both sides of the plate. So yes, while Judge led in batting average, OPS, etc. this season, he added little to no value on defense from a low-value corner outfield position. To further exasperate this point, he DHed in nearly 20 more games than Raleigh did, while playing in fewer overall games in 2025. Raleigh's offense and defense changed games and his team for the duration of the season - the same cannot be said for Judge, not consistently anyway. If a player's impact isn't considered in ALL facets of the game for the MVP award, what do we have the honor for?

The Heart of the Problem: MLB's MVP Has Become a "Best Hitter" Award

Mauer's 2009 MVP win validated the value of a catcher when offense, defense, and staff leadership come together at a high level. Raleigh meets, and probably exceeds, this blueprint laid down by the Twins' Hall of Fame backstop, yet current voting trends reward the biggest bat rather than the best overall contributor. Defense at the catcher's position has always been undervalued and overlooked, so if the award is going to remain "Most Valuable Player," then all positions need to be considered for their full contribution, but that simply isn't happening anymore. Here is an example: Raleigh plays more than 25 games more on the field than Judge in the most physically demanding position, excels at it, all while hitting 60 home runs and leading the AL in RBI, yet his WAR is more than two points lower than Judge's? Something has to change. The current model of voting has MLB on a trajectory where it is unlikely for another pitcher to win the MVP again over a batter - how could they if they never hit? And no, I'm not referring to two-way players like Shohei Ohtani. That is a separate class of player all on their own, like Babe Ruth, and they are about as rare as a unicorn.

If only offense matters to the BBWAA, then go with the offense-only award that already exists - the Hank Aaron award. That is what "most valuable player" means in 2025, apparently. If the season that Cal Raleigh had wasn't enough to land the MVP award, the problem isn't the player - it's the award. MLB must either return to the MVP award as it was initially intended or get rid of it entirely in favor of the Hank Aaron award.

The BBWAA voters are so focused on offensive contribution that they miss the point of the MVP award - the player who contributes the most to his team's success in the course of the season. The Most Valuable Player isn't always the best hitter, but they make a significant difference in their team's run production. The Most Valuable Player may not always win a Gold Glove on defense, but without them, the chemistry of their team changes on defense. MVPs are difference makers on both sides of the ball, and if the MVP voters can't understand that, the entire award should be scrapped.