For the second consecutive year, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were named the Most Valuable Players in the National and American Leagues, respectively. The Japanese was decisive in the center of the diamond and in the batter’s box, winning his fourth MVP award in five years unanimously. On the other hand, Aaron Judge narrowly beat out Cal Raleigh in a close vote, but his 53 home runs and 114 runs batted in were enough to earn him the award.
However, their dominance is not limited to awards, as they have been dominating MLB for five years, as both lead in home runs, OPS, OPS+, slugging and total bases. They even faced each other in a World Series in 2024, with the Los Angeles Dodgers defeating the Yankees and the Japanese being victoriousRecord and historical comparisons: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge against baseball legends
Aaron Judge is enjoying a period of greatness as the undisputed leader of the New York Yankees and is even comparable to Babe Ruth. The outfielder has 190 home runs in his last 500 games, putting him on an exclusive list of players with those numbers, always making headlines for his good performances.
On the other hand, Shohei Ohtani has redefined what a complete baseball player is with his combination of hitting and dominant pitching, being instrumental this season in helping the Dodgers win their second consecutive World Series ring and become one of the best of all time.
The future of the Ohtani vs Judge rivalry
Ohtani and Judge are expected to remain key players for their teams for several more years. The Japanese player is under contract until 2033 with the Dodgers, a franchise that is always in the hunt for the National League Championship and has won it twice in a row, being practically ‘unbeatable’ in the postseason. On the other hand, the so-called ‘judge’ is under contract until 2031 with the New York Yankees, but has been denied an Autumn Classic title, being 2024 American League champion.
These two high-level players can continue to reap personal achievements, adding MVP awards and breaking new franchise or MLB records, and they will also represent their countries in the next World Baseball Classic to be held in March 2026, where they could face each other to continue growing the rivalry.
We may be witnessing one of the best rivalries in modern baseball with two players who have won the Hank Aaron Award four years in a row, which recognizes the best offensive player in each league, where both continue to prove they have what it takes to write their name in the MLB history books
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