Podcast Summary

Podcast: Don, Hahn & Rosenberg
Episode: Hour 3: Judge Wins MVP & Pro Picks
Date: November 14, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg
Main Theme: Debating Aaron Judge’s third MVP award (vs. Cal Raleigh), the meaning of “MVP,” baseball award voting, positional value, and the hosts’ weekly NFL picks.

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, Don, Hahn & Rosenberg dig deep into the drama around Aaron Judge winning his third MVP award over Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh—a debate that stirs classic questions: Is the MVP for the “best” player or the “most valuable”? The discussion draws in analytics, positional value, and baseball culture, while callers and hosts wrestle with what the award should mean. The episode closes with the hosts’ NFL “pro picks,” delivered with the usual banter and self-deprecating humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Aaron Judge Wins MVP: Was It Clear Cut?

• Judge’s Third MVP: The show opens congratulating Aaron Judge for his win, noting it was a tight race between him and Cal Raleigh (17 to 13 in first-place votes, [01:00-03:51]).

• Judge vs. Raleigh: Don notes Raleigh’s historic season (“the first catcher ever to hit 60 home runs”) makes the argument compelling. He raises the classic MVP debate—“best player” vs. “most valuable player” ([01:00-04:00]).

  "Nobody is going to look back at Judge's numbers ... and say that he didn't deserve the MVP. But I can understand people in Seattle going, 'really, no catcher has ever had a year like this?'" – Don Hahn [01:25]

• WAR Decides It: The group emphasizes that ultimately the MVP vote “goes to the guy with the higher WAR.” Judge’s WAR was 9.7, Raleigh’s 7.4—a decisive difference ([06:00-08:00]).

  “When it’s that wide, it almost always goes to the guy with the higher WAR.” – Don Hahn [06:45]

• Historic Precedents: The hosts bring up past award voting, e.g., the 2012 AL MVP when Miguel Cabrera (Triple Crown) won over Mike Trout (much higher WAR) because Cabrera’s team made the playoffs ([06:40-07:40]).

2. Should MVP Really Mean “Most Valuable”?

• Lifetime Achievement Bias: Rosenberg floats the idea that Judge’s brand/legacy may have swayed voters: “For the legacy and for the continued building of Aaron Judge's brand, I'd rather have him get another one...” ([07:44-08:56]).

• WAR vs. Intangibles: Don points out the inconsistency of heavily relying on stats like WAR. He cites Juan Soto finishing third (“every time he got hot, Mets lost... so what do numbers matter?”) as evidence that pure stats alone don’t always tell the story ([09:02-10:30]).

• East Coast Bias Debunked: Don notes Dan Patrick’s claim: “if Raleigh was a Yankee and Judge was a Mariner, Raleigh would have won it”—which Don sees as countering the common “East coast bias” complaint ([10:55-11:06]).

  “That kind of spits in the face of the whole east coast bias, right?” – Don Hahn [10:59]

• Callers Weigh In: Multiple callers express both “old school” and analytics viewpoints.

  • E.g., Tom questions if standards have fallen to allow “sub-.250 hitters” to win MVPs ([12:15-13:29]).
  • Don counters, “the only consideration... is to do this as a catcher is pretty special. We've been playing baseball for 150 years. Nobody has ever come close to doing this” ([12:51-13:29]).

3. Positional Value: Catcher vs. Outfield

• Toughness of Catcher Role: A caller and Don highlight that what Raleigh did as a switch-hitting catcher is uniquely impressive (“being a catcher as opposed to standing out in the outfield for nine innings”) ([25:58-27:02]).
• Statistical Limitations: Don says, “There’s a lot to it. I think people need to appreciate that this isn't the difference between a guy playing third base and a guy playing first base... There’s a catcher. So I have some respect for the position” ([26:29-27:01]).

4. Is It Time for Two Awards?

• Recurrent Debate: The hosts and callers repeatedly return to whether there should be a “Best Player” and a “Most Valuable Player” award, since they so often go to the same person, but sometimes shouldn’t ([13:59-16:09]).

• Other Sports Parallels: Rosenberg points out this isn’t just a baseball argument—MVP standards are unclear across sports (NBA: LeBron, Jokic; NHL: Ovechkin, Crosby) ([15:54-16:36]).

  “If you make it solely on value to a team, there are certain players who could win every year simply on the team's existence.” – Peter Rosenberg [16:09]

5. Shohei Ohtani: The MVP Unicorn

• How do you even judge him?: Both Don and Peter agree Ohtani is a “unicorn”; he’d win MVP yearly if he’s excellent as both a hitter and pitcher ([27:01-29:42]).

• Finding a Comparison: The hosts attempt, and struggle, to find any modern sports parallel to what Ohtani is doing.

  "That would be like Jack Hughes in game three of the Stanley Cup final scoring a hat trick and then he's the starting goaltender the next game." – Don Hahn ([30:10-30:35])

• What Standard for Ohtani?: They debate how good Ohtani “needs” to be at both roles to keep winning MVP—and agree the bar is set higher but is unclear ([27:54-29:42]).

6. Yankee Fans, Judge, and the Shadow of Jeter

• Do Yankees fans appreciate Judge?: Don observes fans have taken Judge’s greatness for granted, fixating on the lack of a championship rather than his historic stats ([32:55-34:17]).

• Judge vs. Jeter: Short, passionate debate—Judge is a “better player”; Jeter was a greater “winner.” Jeter’s postseason legend still trumps, but Don says Judge may be “the greatest right-handed batter period” ([34:17-36:33]).

  "Derek Jeter was a winner. He's great... He's not Judge. Sorry." – Don Hahn [34:43]

7. NFL Pro Picks Segment

Standings (as of episode):

• Don: 15-16, 28 points, first place ([43:25-43:34])
• Alan: 11-19, 21 points
• Peter: 9-22, 19 points

Game Picks Highlights

• Don’s Picks:

  • Three-point: Jets (already hit)
  • Two-point: Washington +2.5 vs. ??? (Madrid game)
  • One-point: Bills -5.5 vs. Buccaneers

• Alan’s Picks:

  • One-point: Chargers -2.5 at Jacksonville
  • Two-point: Rams -3.5 vs. Seattle
  • Three-point: Eagles -2.5 vs. Lions

  “I'm feeling Hollywood this week so I'm going to take the Rams. Lay the three and a half against Seattle... Matthew Stafford's a true MVP candidate here.” – Alan Hahn [48:04]

• Peter’s Picks:

  • Two-point: (already hit/lost previous night)
  • One-point: Chargers -2.5 at Jacksonville (matches Alan)
  • Three-point: Lions +2.5 at Eagles (against Alan's three-point)

  "This is a heart pick. Don, you know I love rolling with the Lions... Give me the Lions as my three point play." – Peter Rosenberg [51:17]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On MVP Debate:

  • “Should there be a best player and should there be an MVP? And if there were two separate awards... it would always go to the same player.” – Don Hahn [02:30]
  • “[WAR] It’s really just taken the fun out of the MVP…” – Don Hahn [06:22]
  • “It’s hard to picture a world in which Shohei Ohtani is not MVP every year because he’s playing such high-level ball at two positions.” – Peter Rosenberg [27:01]

• On Yankees, Judge, and Greatness:

  • “Yankee fans don’t necessarily appreciate [Judge] because it hasn’t resulted in a championship. But this is the greatest right handed batter I’ve ever seen.” – Don Hahn [33:55]
  • “Don’s not saying he’s greater than Derek Jeter. He’s saying he’s better than Derek Jeter… When you look at just the level, the level of ball player, the skill set, the talent—that’s what Don’s talking about.” – Peter Rosenberg [35:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Judge vs. Raleigh MVP debate: [00:54–19:33]
• On the meaning & standards for MVP: [13:29–16:36]
• Callers on MVP value/statistics: [16:52–19:19]
• Ohtani as the perennial MVP, uniqueness: [27:01–32:08]
• Yankee fans, Judge vs. Jeter: [32:55–36:33]
• NFL Picks segment: [43:13–52:20]

Conclusion

A quintessential “Don, Hahn & Rosenberg” episode—spirited, insightful, funny, and anchored in New York sports passion. The MVP debate transcends the numbers, stirring conversations about positional value, legacy, and the very definition of “most valuable.” The segment closes with the hosts’ NFL picks, loaded with the usual ribbing and exasperation at their own records.

Listeners come away with a nuanced understanding of how baseball’s award culture works, why fans care so deeply, and with a few bets for the weekend—plus a reminder that sometimes, the best player really isn’t always the most valuable in the eyes of the voters.