Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt try to take more MVP positions in the duel between the Yankees and the Royals

The two best contenders for the American League MVP title faced off Monday night in the first of three games between two likely playoff contenders.

Yankees hitter Aaron Judge, the MVP winner during his record-setting 2022 season, went 2-for-4 with a walk and another key RBI in the Yankees' 10-4 victory over All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals at the Stadium.

“It's out of my hands, it's always been out of my hands,” Judge told The Post after the game. “It's not my job to worry about it. My job is to put my team in the best position to win, whatever that may be.”

“You should never let worrying about the election or this and that distract you.”

Although both players entered the series with a WAR of 9.6 as calculated by FanGraphs, Yanks manager Aaron Boone gave his pinstriped superstar a glowing recommendation.

“I hear about it sometimes, but I think I can see the MVP every day,” Boone said.

Witt, 24, has a batting average of .335 after a night of 1 for 4 with two strikeouts, leading the MLB.

That's 13 points more than Judge, who leads the majors in home runs (51), RBIs (126) and OPS (1.150) for the first-place Yanks. On Monday, Judge singled ahead of Austin Wells' three-run home run in the seventh inning to tie the game.

Boone called Witt “perhaps the fastest player in the league,” and Witt showed off his skills in the fifth inning by scoring on a pop-up from first base that landed between Gleyber Torres and Juan Soto.

“That's one thing I'd like to have in my repertoire. I wish I could score from first base on a pop-up,” said Judge, who hasn't hit a home run in 13 games since Aug. 25. “If you just look at the progression over the last couple of seasons, he's just getting better and better.”

“I have the feeling [2023] was a pretty amazing year, and he's still surpassing it. He can do anything, he can do anything you can ask of him on a baseball field… He's been a pleasure to watch.”

Witt is also on the verge of his second consecutive 30-30 season with 30 home runs, 98 RBIs and 28 stolen bases for the improved Royals, who hold the second wild-card spot in the American League at 79-66 after 106 losses in 2023.

“When you have something like that in your name, it's always pretty cool,” Witt said when asked about the MVP race. “It's not something I can really control, so I just try to do my best to help the team win every night. So that's my main goal.”

“We're in the hunt for the playoffs right now and I'm ready for that. I just have to control what I can control during this time, prepare as best as I can and have fun.”

In a recent interview with ESPN, Witt called the 6-foot-7 Judge a “big guy” and “the king of New York.”

When asked about Judge on Monday, Witt complimented the six-time All-Star outfielder on both his personality off the field and his performance on it.

“It's unbelievable. I saw him firsthand at the All-Star Game, how he works and what he does and what a great guy he is, not just on the field but off it,” Witt said. “He respects everybody, talks to everybody, comes up to me and talks to me. He doesn't have to do that. He's Aaron Judge, so it's pretty cool to see him do that as a person.”