Throughout the season the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we picked between baseball's many Jacksons. This week we're going to tackle the AL wild-card race.
Who's had the more impressive season: Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani?
Matt Snyder: First off, I'm just glad they are in different leagues so both can win MVP and we don't have to have a seemingly never-ending debate.
I'll go with Judge. He has a decent lead in average, OBP and slugging percentage along with more homers and RBI. He's done all this while playing a physically demanding center field instead of serving as the full-time DH. I do think we can give Ohtani a little concession for rehabbing his elbow during the course of the season, but that isn't actually on-field work. What we're left with on the field is Judge being superior in most categories, close to even in others and trailing significantly in stolen bases. Is the gap in steals enough to make up for everything else, including a DH vs. a CF? Not for me. It's close, though, and I realize that the unique 50-50 season carries a lot of weight with a lot of people.
Dayn Perry: If Ohtani were pitching this season and not recovering from Tommy John, he'd be the answer here. He deserves the NL MVP award, but Judge for me is clearly the more valuable player in 2024. As I write this, he's got a 35-point advantage in OPS+ and a big edge in OBP. Ohtani's base-stealing is an impressive accomplishment, but it's not enough to overcome Judge's offensive advantages elsewhere. Also, as Snyder said, there's a big difference between producing as a DH and producing as a primary center fielder, which is what Judge is. Easy call for me.
R.J. Anderson: I suppose it depends on what we mean by "impressive." If we're only talking about which season is more productive or valuable in a quantifiable way, then I am inclined to agree that it's Judge's. If we're talking about "impressive" in the sense that it's hard to wrap our minds around … well, then I'm more likely to go with Ohtani. It's nothing against Judge; it's just hard to fathom that a player hit 50 home runs and stole 50 bases in the same season -- oh, and that the player is also a great pitcher when healthy. It sounds like lore, not something we've watched play out night after night for the past six months.
Mike Axisa: "Impressive" is not necessarily the same thing as "better," right? I think Judge is having the better season, the stats tell us so, but Ohtani's power/speed display is unprecedented, and that's more impressive to me. He's stolen all these bases the last few weeks and what stands out most is how often he steals in obvious stolen base situations, and still slides in well ahead of the tag. Everyone knows he's running and he still makes it with ease.
Perhaps I would feel differently if we hadn't just watched Judge hit 62 home runs in 2022. On a rate basis, Judge's 2024 is better than his 2022, but by and large we have seen him do this before. Maybe that's working against him in my subconscious and why I lean toward Ohtani having the more impressive season. Judge and Ohtani are both awesome. The talent in the game right now is just incredible. Force me to pick one, and I'll say Ohtani's season has impressed me more than Judge's.
