Angels News: Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge and the American League MVP Race
The fight for the American League MVP is a two-man race.
It's been that way pretty much all season long.
In one corner, there's the power-hitting outfielder on one of the best teams in the American League, looking to etch his name in the record books of one of baseball's most storied franchises.
And in the other corner, there's the two-way superstar on one of baseball's most disappointing teams, who seemingly makes history every time he steps out onto the diamond.
You can't really go wrong either way.
But as of Saturday morning, Yankees OF Aaron Judge appears to be the heavy favorite.
Judge is sitting as a -5000 favorite at Vegas sportsbooks, while Shohei Ohtani has the second-shortest odds at +1500.
According to Vegas, there's not much of a race.
But while Judge's season has been nothing short of dominant — and he is absolutely deserving of the recognition — the race should be much closer.
So here's a case for Shohei Ohtani to win his second straight MVP award.
You know a player is special when you're not sure whether to start with his statistics on the mound or at the plate.
Let's start with Ohtani the pitcher.
On the year, Ohtani is 12-8 with a 2.55 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 141 innings. His innings fall just short of qualifying him among league leaders, but here's where he would stand in the AL rankings:
ERA: 6th. WHIP: T-6th. Strikeouts: 4th. K/9: 1st. K/BB: 5th. FIP: 2nd.
He currently has the fourth-shortest odds to win AL Cy Young award.
Now let's look at Ohtani the batter.
On the year, Ohtani is slashing .265/.355/.534 with 34 HRs and 88 RBIs. He does qualify among the league leaders in batting, so here's where he stands in the AL.
HRs: 4th. RBIs: T-5th. Triples: T-3rd. Walks: 7th SLG: 3rd. OPS: 3rd.
A year removed from his MVP and Silver Slugger season, Ohtani is having a better season as a pitcher, and is matching his numbers at the plate. All around, he's been better than he was during his unanimous MVP season.
It would take a beyond dominant season to dethrone Ohtani as the MVP. But according to Vegas, that's exactly what Judge has done.
Judge leads the league with 59 HRs, 123 RBIs and an OPS of 1.102. He also leads the league with a WAR of 9.1 — Ohtani is in second at 8.1.
Judge may get an edge because his team will make the playoffs. But take Ohtani off the Angels and they may be among the worst ever.
Again, you can't really go wrong either way. One player will get the recognition at the end of the year, but both should be praised for the extraordinary seasons they've played.
The two did go head-to-head in two at-bats this season at Yankee Stadium back in early June.
In the first one, Judge singled to center. In the second one, Judge homered to left.
