Where does Judge's MVP season rank among the all-time greats?

To little surprise, Aaron Judge was named American League MVP on Thursday, a fitting conclusion to one of the greatest displays of offense many of us will ever see. So where does Judge's 2022 campaign rank in the annals of baseball history? Let's find his place among the best.

10. Albert Belle, 1995

Belle's litany of off-field (and sometimes on-field) issues often overshadow what a great hitter he was. Never was his offensive prowess more evident than in 1995 when Belle produced the first - and still only - 50-homer, 50-double season in baseball history. He was also the first player to record 100 extra-base hits since 1948, led the AL in slugging, runs, RBIs, and total bases, and struck out just 80 times in 631 plate appearances, a remarkably low total for a slugger of his caliber. Belle lost the MVP to Mo Vaughn in one of the closest votes ever.

9. Mike Trout, 2018

In 2018, Trout increased his walk rate to a career-best 20.1% in a season where the 30 teams' average walk rate was 8.5%. When he wasn't taking walks, Trout was busy putting his bat on the ball, with a personal-best 84.1% contact rate that helped him slug 39 homers and 67 extra-base hits. He also led the league in OBP (.460) and OPS (1.088) while finishing third in slugging (.628). The only thing that stopped him from posting even better numbers was a wrist injury that cost him almost a month of action. While this will fly under the radar for some because he lost the MVP to Mookie Betts, 2018 is undeniably the masterpiece from Trout, this generation's greatest hitter.

8. Jimmie Foxx, 1932

Even in the pre-integration, high-octane offensive environment of the early 1930s, Foxx's 1932 season stands out and measures up to numbers from any era. "Double X" broke out as the premier right-handed slugger of his time in '32, slugging .749 with a 1.219 OPS (207 OPS+), while his .364 average left him just three points shy of a Triple Crown. His 58 homers set a new single-season record for right-handed hitters, a mark that he either held outright or shared (with Hank Greenberg and Mark McGwire) for 66 years. This season would net Foxx his first of three MVP awards.

7. Rogers Hornsby, 1924

Hornsby's unbelievable run with the Cardinals from 1920-25 featured several jaw-dropping campaigns, with 1924 being his finest. Obviously, his .424 average - a live-ball-era record that's never been approached - stands out, but the entire slash line of .424/.507/.696 is truly a sight to behold. His 25 homers seem pedestrian until you remember that in 1924, the high-water homer mark for players not named Babe Ruth was 27. Hornsby's 222 OPS+, which helps measure him against players of all eras, has stood the test of time: The only hitters with a better single-season OPS+ in the last 98 years are Ruth, Ted Williams, and Barry Bonds. Lest we forget, Hornsby also led the NL in doubles (43), hits (227), runs (121), and walks (89) while striking out only 32 times.

6. Mickey Mantle, 1957

Mantle's Triple Crown season of 1956 is by far the more famous of his back-to-back MVP campaigns and could easily be here instead. What the Triple Crown obscures is that he may have actually been better in 1957. Consider his 221 OPS+ was 11 points higher in '57. Mantle's slugging percentage dipped a bit because he went from 52 homers in '56 down to 34, but he made up for it with an absurd .365/.512/.665 slash line. The only reason he didn't lead the AL in all three slash categories was his campaign coincided with Ted Williams' last great season, which narrowly missed being on this list. Triple Crowns are flashy and legendary, but for our money, "The Mick" was at the peak of his powers in 1957.

5. Babe Ruth, 1920

In his first season as a full-time position player, Ruth changed baseball forever by hitting a then-unheard of 54 homers - some 35 more than second-place George Sisler and 39 ahead of NL leader Cy Williams. His 255 OPS+ was the highest of the modern era until 2001 and still ranks seventh all time, trumped only by three Barry Bonds seasons, Fred Dunlap in 1884 (playing in a league, the Union Association, whose "major" status is questionable at best), and two Josh Gibson Negro League campaigns. All told, Ruth hit .376/.532/.847 and led the majors in RBIs (135), runs (158), and walks (150). Not even the caveats of pre-integration baseball or Ruth being the only power hitter on earth in 1920 can dilute what an amazing and important season this was.

4. Aaron Judge, 2022

This was more than just 62 homers. Judge proved himself to be an all-around offensive threat in an era that emphasizes power numbers over contact hitting, and he nearly added a Triple Crown to his AL home-run record. He led the majors in OBP, slugging, total bases, RBIs, runs, and extra-base hits and topped the AL in walks. In the expansion era, the only players to post an OPS+ above 200 besides Judge did so in either a strike- or pandemic-shortened season (Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas, Juan Soto) or at the height of the steroid era (Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds). It's not just recency bias that puts him this high. Judge's 2022 season was truly one for the ages.

3. Ted Williams, 1941

This season is known for one specific number: .406, marking the last time anyone hit over .400. Williams got there in style, too, going 6-for-8 in a doubleheader on the final day of the season after entering play at .399. But that's merely scratching the surface of how amazing his 1941 campaign was. Williams' entire slash line of .406/.553/.735 - all career highs for "The Splendid Splinter" - is beyond incredible. He led the majors in all slash-line categories, as well as homers (37), runs (135), and walks (147) while missing the Triple Crown by five RBIs. While he was actually the runner-up for AL MVP - Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak won out among voters - it's Williams' overall numbers in '41 that continue to stand as one of the best single seasons ever, regardless of era.

2. Stan Musial, 1948

Once, when asked how to pitch to Musial, Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Preacher Roe said, "I throw him four wide ones, then try to pick him off first base." Roe's peers would have been wise to heed his advice in 1948 when Musial was essentially unstoppable. He led the National League in batting (.376), OBP (.450), slugging (.702), OPS (1.152), hits (230), runs (135), doubles (46), triples (18), RBIs (131), total bases (429), and OPS+ (200), missing a Triple Crown by one homer - which he actually hit in a game that was rained out before it could become official. Of the 155 games Musial played, he failed to reach base in just 17 and only had one multi-strikeout game. This one may not have the sexy round numbers, but like much of Musial's work, it was a quiet display of all-around greatness that few can match.

1. Barry Bonds, 2004

The winner and still champion. Any of Bonds' 2001-04 seasons could be here, but 2004 wins out thanks to the eye-popping .362/.609/.812 slash line and some truly astonishing facts. By this point, Bonds was so feared that over half of his 232 walks were intentional - and who knows how many more were "unintentionally intentional." He was impossible to strike out, with just 41 Ks in 617 plate appearances. Despite being pitched around virtually all the time, he still managed to hit 45 homers and 75 extra-base hits. This was the culmination of a run of dominance that we'll likely never see again, and Bonds did it against perhaps the best pitching competition that anyone on this list, outside of Judge and Trout, has ever faced. It will take something very special to knock him off this perch.