Welcome to year two of “Dugout Diaries!”

That’s right, dear reader — one year ago today, I gifted the world the very first edition of the greatest and most accurate column in Daily Trojan history. In the past 365 days, I have provided nothing but correct opinion after correct opinion on the world of baseball, whether you’ve known it or not.

In celebration of this milestone, I would like to return to the topic I discussed in that inaugural issue: the MVP races in Major League Baseball.

Last year, I nobly and factually argued New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge clearly deserved to win American League MVP over Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, despite much of the national conversation supporting the latter. The voters ended up agreeing with me, as Judge narrowly beat out Raleigh 17 to 13 to earn his third career MVP title.

While I still find it a bit ridiculous the margin was that close — Judge had a 1.144 OPS, guys, come on — it did give us something MLB has rarely seen in recent years: a genuine MVP race.

You wouldn’t know it if you started watching baseball this decade, but the awards race for each league’s best player used to be competitive. Sure, there were plenty of years with obvious favorites, but it was common for the winner to be uncertain up until the day it was announced.

You don’t need to look too far for examples: In 2019, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich had a dramatic season-long bout for National League MVP, and the race in the AL was even closer. Two years prior, six different players received first-place votes for NL MVP, with Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton taking the award over Cincinnati Reds infielder Joey Votto by a voting margin of less than 1%.

In the past five years, however, these exciting chases have been all but nonexistent, largely thanks to two men: Judge … and, of course, Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani. The pair of generational talents have combined for seven of the last 10 MVP titles, including all five from the AL. When you have two of the greatest players in baseball history in their prime — and, as of 2024, competing in different leagues — there isn’t much room for anyone else to join the discussion.

The voters certainly seem to think that way: During those five years, there have been six unanimous MVP votes, including four for Ohtani alone. In the 24 years prior, there were just four.

Barry Bonds was so good and so juiced up from 2001 to 2004 that other teams stopped pitching to him entirely — and he still broke the all-time home run record — yet he only won MVP unanimously once. Even during the greatest prime in the sport’s history, the results weren’t as lopsided as they’ve been throughout the 2020s.

That brings us to today. In the aftermath of the Judge-Raleigh battle — the first time an MVP race has been close since before “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” released — are we looking at a new era of exciting award chases? Or was this just a fluke in a sea of overpowering performances?

Well, the AL isn’t giving us much. Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez looks poised not only to win his first MVP, but also potentially take home the Triple Crown — a feat we’ve seen just once in nearly 60 years. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. probably can’t catch him, but he might close the gap enough to at least avoid another sweep in the voting department.

The NL, on the other hand … Now that’s exciting.

Remember what I was saying about Ohtani — four unanimous MVPs, generational talent, etc. cetera? What if I told you that, despite a .933 OPS as a hitter and a 1.79 ERA on the mound, he may not win MVP at all this season?

That’s the power of Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who looks like he might be the best all-around player in the sport. After falling off a cliff in the second half last year, Crow-Armstrong has opted to stay good for the entire season in 2026, a choice that has paid dividends: 33 home runs, 32 steals, a 154 OPS+ and the highest Wins Above Replacement total in the league. Oh, he’s also incredible on defense, with a staggering 23 Outs Above Average.

As a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, it pains me to give any amount of praise to a Cubs player, but credit where credit’s due: If the season ended today, he would be getting my vote for MVP.

That’s not to say Ohtani doesn’t have a case. His offensive output has been roughly equal to that of Crow-Armstrong, and where he lags in baserunning and defensive value, he makes up for it with Cy Young-level pitching. His problem, though, is volume, as Ohtani has missed about half the season on the mound while dealing with an injury; however, manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that he may pitch again as soon as this weekend.

I can’t say for sure who will end up walking away with the NL MVP award come November. What I do know, though, is that for the second year in a row, we’ve got a fight to the finish on our hands — and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Let’s do this every year.

Bennett Christofferson is a senior writing about baseball’s biggest stories and controversies in his column, “Dugout Diaries,” which runs every other Thursday. He is also the managing editor at the Daily Trojan.