Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani: Who will win MVP

In an age when everything is measured with scientific accuracy, this is more of a “gut feeling” approach, which is frowned upon. Of course, the player with the most value need not win the MVP title. A season may occasionally be superior to others for factors unrelated to statistics. But to understand and calculate the most accurate answer, we need to take a look at Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani’s records!

About Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge is attempting to reach one of the sport’s most coveted milestones: 60 home runs in a single season. Judge is accomplishing this during a time when pitchers are throwing harder than ever, when getting a base hit is more difficult than it has been in the last fifty years and during a season in which no other player has nearly as many home runs as he has. If he makes it, the season will go down in history.

Additionally, Judge is benefiting from being a stronger base runner and defender than Guerrero was last season, as well as from adequately playing centre field to give Aaron Boone more flexibility with the lineup. Judge is also benefiting from being a leader, if not the leader, of the Yankees.

In addition to breaking the Yankees/AL/non-dubious single-season home run record by hitting at least 62, Judge, who already has one more home run this season (49) than Guerrero Jr. did in 2021, also strengthens and distinguishes his case for the MVP. Aaron Judge already has more Wins Above Replacement this year with more than a month left than Guerrero had last year; he also has more merely as a position player than Ohtani does as a hitter.

 

About Shohei Ohtani 

Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is pursuing only one impossible dream: to be a star pitcher and hitter, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in the big leagues since Ruth did it for the Red Sox more than a century ago and Bullet Joe Rogan did it in the 1920s’ Negro Leagues. Ohtani is performing this in a time when athletes are bigger and stronger than ever; even Ruth, who falls into this category, only did it briefly before switching to Sultan on a full-time basis. Back-to-back historical seasons are what Ohtani accomplished last season, and he is doing it once more. 

Who Carries More Value? 

The MVP debate largely revolves around numbers, and the most straightforward approach to compare the two players is to look at their WAR. According to Baseball-Reference, Judge is ranked at 7.4, while Ohtani, who pitched seven scoreless innings to defeat the Blue Jays on Saturday, is ranked at 7.0 — 4.2 for pitching and 2.8 for hitting. Judge receives a somewhat larger advantage on FanGraphs, 7.9 to 7.0. The precision with which both values are presented suggests that the true value of the two players may be closer.

 

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