The 2024 MLB campaign has been a tale of two cities. If you love baseball, or a West Coast vs. East Coast rivalry, this is a year of epic proportions. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers have scorched throughout the season. Of course, neither powerhouse franchise would be in this position if not for the talents of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
I’ve been a fan of baseball for my life’s entirety, but as an early-’90s kid, there’s something about a California-New York clash that gets the blood pumping.
A considerable portion of the baseball community is hoping these two meet in a Dodgers-Yankees mega World Series, but the MLB playoffs can be quite unpredictable.
We may not get this specific matchup in the 2024 Fall Classic, so why not dive into the Judge-Ohtani debate now? Keep in mind—there is less than two weeks left in MLB’s regular season.
I chatted with baseball expert Lucy Burdge of Bet Slips And Bat Flips last week. When posed with the same question, Burdge had this head-to-head comparison close, but not that close. Let’s sift through the respective cases for both Ohtani and Judge.
Shohei Ohtani
Chasing 50-50
Entering Thursday, September 19, Ohtani is on the precipice of accomplishing something never seen in the 150+ years of MLB. With 10 games left to play, the Japanese superstar has a strong chance to finish 2024 with at least 50 stolen bases and 50 home runs.
Before the Dodgers wrap up their series in Miami on Thursday, Ohtani has logged 48 HR and 49 SB. He has a matchup against Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera on Tuesday, and frankly, Ohtani should feast there. Expect him to return from South Florida with at least one notch higher in one of the aforementioned statistical categories.
MLB Loves Consistency
Ohtani has not done any pitching or playing the field in 2024, but his temporary move to designated hitter has not been in vain. For his first campaign in Dodger blue, Ohtani is having his second-best offensive season of his MLB career.
The 30-year-old slugger has posted a .978 OPS to this point in the year. From there, he is hitting a cool .287, which would be his top annual batting average besides 2023. He has been a model of consistency at the plate, and the results show it. Through 593 at bats this season, Ohtani is sporting a personal-best 58.7% hard-hit rate (via Statcast).
Aaron Judge
Unrivaled Power
“All rise!” Followers of MLB know there is a reason you either stand up — if at the game in person — or stop what you’re doing when Judge is in the batter’s box. The 6’7″ masher from California’s Central Valley has Herculean power.
In 2024, Judge has already blasted 50+ homers for the third time in his big-league tenure. Like the Dodgers, the Yankees also have 10 games remaining entering Thursday. With Judge sitting on 53, is it possible he reaches 60 jacks again?
Along with legends Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, Judge is regarded as MLB’s top home-run hitter not associated with any steroid controversy. Judge has launched 152 total baseballs (and counting) over the fence these past three campaigns. Fair to say he is a modern marvel at the plate. The fact that Judge is holding his best career batting average (.321) right now may give him the edge here.
Firing On All Cylinders
I have the utmost respect for what Ohtani is doing right now, but I am an old-school, National League-style baseball kind of guy. Yes, I understand that Judge is in the A.L., but the Yankee captain excels in center field (a premium position in baseball). Meanwhile, Ohtani is still unable to contribute defensively for the Dodgers.
Judge likely won’t win the Gold Glove for 2024 but his 9.8 WAR (wins above replacement) cannot be ignored. If he were still camped out in right field more often, I would not be as swayed. Still, the most important defensive positions for an MLB franchise are catcher, shortstop and center field. Judge holds down his spot with both range and a rocket throwing arm.
The Verdict
With 10 games left to play for these two faces of MLB, both still have a chance to separate from one another. Notably, the Yankees and Dodgers each sit atop their respective divisions, so it really is similar to splitting hairs. But at this point, if the campaign ended today, I would lean toward Aaron Judge.
Given everything he does for the Bronx Bombers, I cannot deny him here. Also, Judge’s 1.144 OPS is by far tops in the majors.
However, when speaking with Lucy Burdge not so long ago, she was leaning toward Ohtani.
Burdge and I agree on the rarity and greatness that comes along with Ohtani possibly reaching the 50-50 mark. I think all baseball fans are rooting for Ohtani in that regard and he should reach the first-time feat.
Lucy also cites Judge’s 16-game power outage as a reason to give Ohtani the edge. From August 26 until this past Friday the 13th (to add in some irony), Judge went without a home run. However, he’s hammered two over the wall since. Recent slump or not, Judge has more homers than any other player this year.
This MLB debate absolutely has merit on both sides, but I stand by Judge right now. Despite peaks, valleys and injury, Judge still has more prolific hitting numbers in 2024. He also is a top-tier defender at a demanding position. With that said, the story is not yet complete—you’re going to want to lock in over this final 10-game stretch.