The New York Yankees are in the final weekend of their regular season, finishing the year strong. While Yankees manager Aaron Boone's focus is on the postseason, he cannot ignore Aaron Judge's American League MVP candidacy. The superstar is in a tight race with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh for the award. In Boone's opinion, there is no real competition for his captain.

Judge matched Yankees legend Mickey Mantle earlier this week as he crossed over 50 home runs on the season. He and Giancarlos Stanton have led New York on a tear to end the regular season. However, Raleigh has been just as hot as ever in Seattle, making the MVP conversation much closer than in years past. Voters will have a tough time deciding between them.

Regardless of who wins the MVP, it will have been well-deserved. If Judge wins, he will win the award in back-to-back seasons, joining an exclusive club in Major League Baseball history. If Raleigh is the winner, he will be the first Mariner to take the honor back to Seattle since Ichiro Suzuki. Boone spoke with SNY on the race and believes that his player is the clear front-runner.

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“Nothing Aaron Judge does surprises me,” Boone said. “To me, he's the clear-cut MVP. I feel like he's been on base seven times a day in the past week. Whether they don't pitch to him, pitch to him, hitting it out of the ball park. He made a really good play in right field to open a game. You see his athleticism out there. I don't put anything past No. 99. He's playing like an all-time great.”

Judge and the Yankees are still in contention for the top spot in the AL playoff picture. If New York surpasses the Toronto Blue Jays, Boone's perspective could be shared by award voters who will have no choice but to hand the All-Star another MVP title.