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Angels News: Aaron Judge Beats Out Shohei Ohtani for Top Players Choice Awards

Ohtani being nominated shows how well respected he is among his peers.

Ryan Menzie

Angels News: Aaron Judge Beats Out Shohei Ohtani for Top Players Choice Awards
Angels News: Aaron Judge Beats Out Shohei Ohtani for Top Players Choice Awards /
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It was going to be a fight until the end. Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani against Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge. But this battle was going to take place off the field. 

The MLB Players Association announced their end of season awards for 2022, as voted on by the players. Judge and Ohtani were battling it out for two of the most prestigious awards — Player of the Year and AL Outstanding Player of the Year. But in the end, it was Judge who took home both.

This isn't something to be ashamed of, as Judge set an AL record with 62 home runs this season. An amazing feat for someone who decided to bet on himself this off-season and is expected to earn top dollar heading into free agency. 

As for Ohtani, he continued to do it all on both sides of the field. He finished with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs, with an OPS of .875. He also also pitched a career-best 2.33 ERA, winning 15 games and striking out 161 batters.

All this was good enough to earn Ohtani his second straight All-Star appearance, and a nomination for the Hank Aaron Award. Ohtani wasn't able to take home either of these players choice awards, but he's still recognized among his peers as one of the best players in baseball. He'll be up against Judge one final time when the MVP award is announced on November 17.

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Ryan Menzie
RYAN MENZIE

Ryan Menzie | Lead Contributor Ryan is an LA Native who has grown up praising the greatest athletes LA has had to offer. A love for sports ranging between basketball, football, volleyball and golf, a future Sports Management Masters graduate, and being engulfed into organized sports since seven years old, the passion and love for sports never ends for Ryan. If the words he writes don't paint the full picture of his true fandom, he will find more ways than one to tell the story and be more than willing to open up a nice LA sports debate with you. Favorite Player: Shohei Ohtani  Favorite Moment: Shohei Ohtani Unanimous MVP. Can't think of a player more than deserving, besides Mike Trout of course. Ohtani truly has changed the landscape of the game and defines what a true two-way player is in todays game. 

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