New York is once again at the center of Major League Baseball as the internet is abuzz with a viral claim: Aaron Judge didn’t win MVP because he’s a Yankee — he won MVP despite being a Yankee. A viral post from Yankees 366 has sparked a heated debate about media bias against America’s most storied team.
The image of Judge swinging a powerful shot under the Yankee Stadium lights became emblematic of the latest storm of debate: whether the media was deliberately biased against the Yankees, and whether Judge had to win MVP at a disadvantage compared to his smaller-market opponents?
The shocking post read:
“Aaron Judge didn’t win MVP because he was a Yankee. He won it despite being a Yankee! If he were in Seattle, he would win by a lot more!”
The argument immediately sparked thousands of comments, from fans who agreed to those who vehemently disagreed.
For years, a segment of Yankees fans have believed that the national media—which is often based in markets that directly compete with New York—tend to be more critical of the Yankees’ performance. They have cited no shortage of examples:
The 2006 MVP race, when Derek Jeter had a stellar season but finished second.
The 2017 race, when Judge—then a breakout rookie—also missed out on MVP in controversy.
Those examples are being brought up again as Judge continues to maintain his status as MLB’s top superstar.
The widespread view is that Judge won MVP not because of a big market advantage, but because he had to overcome the “arrogant Yankee” image that the media often ascribes to the team.
Supporters of this argument point out that if Judge had played for a small-market team—particularly the Seattle Mariners, who have always been well-liked by analysts—he would have received a much larger number of MVP votes. The argument even goes so far as to suggest that the positive narratives are often for Seattle, while the Yankees are often seen as “rich teams that need to be contained.”
Interestingly, this debate has unexpectedly drawn Seattle and the Mariners community into the fray. Many New York fans argue that the Mariners are often favored by the media, and that Seattle players, despite their less impressive records, are often favored in the polls.
Mariners fans, on the other hand, counter that the Yankees have always been the most watched team in MLB, and the idea that they are “hated” is unrealistic.
In the larger picture, this debate is about more than Judge — it reflects the longstanding divide between big and small markets in MLB. The truth is that the Yankees have always been a magnet for debate: loved, hated, always scrutinized, always creating a narrative.
And that’s what makes the Yankees 366 post such a media bomb in the middle of baseball’s winter.
The irony is that the central figure — Aaron Judge — rarely cares about the media wars. He’s focused on the pitch, on his swing, on the numbers he produces.
But to Yankees fans, he’s more than just a player. He’s an icon — and every icon has its own off-field battles.
This debate will continue, at least until the new season begins. And one thing’s for sure: in New York, MVP talk will always be explosive — as long as the name is Aaron Judge.
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