Now that Judge has gotten this monkey off his back (he'd been in a bit of a drought), watch him hit like 4 more before season's end. Good for him. Dude is incredible.
But I want to talk about Judge vs. Ohtani. I know Judge is going to win the MVP, and rightly so - he's having maybe the greatest offensive season (in context) that's ever been had. But who's having the better season overall? Who's the better baseball player? Ohtani clearly represents a totally unique kind of player. Like, as in, we've never seen this before. The only remotely comparable guy is Babe Ruth. So when the Babe is your only even semi-close comparable, you know you're in a world by yourself.
Current stats and rankings (MLB rank/AL rank):
Runs:
- Judge: 130 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 88 (20/8)
Hits:
- Judge: 173 (7/4)
- Ohtani: 152 (26/17)
Home Runs:
- Judge: 61 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 34 (10/4)
RBI:
- Judge: 130 (2/1)
- Ohtani: 93 (16/7)
Total Bases:
- Judge: 384 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 295 (7/4)
Walks:
- Judge: 106 (2/1)
- Ohtani: 71 (15/7)
Avg:
- Judge: .313 (4/1)
- Ohtani: .273 (40/24)
OBP:
- Judge: .425 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .357 (26/16)
SLG:
- Judge: .696 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .530 (9/4)
OPS:
- Judge: 1.121 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .887 (8/3)
bWAR:
- Judge: 10.4 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 3.8 (50/24)
Obviously the hitting is hugely warped in Judge's favor, though if Judge vanished from the face of the earth, Ohtani's overall offensive season would be one of the best in all of baseball. But then there's the craziness that Ohtani also is an elite pitcher, which is something that Judge simply cannot even approach. Here's Ohtani's pitching contribution:
Stat (MLB/AL rank)
- 26 games started (62/28)
- 153.1 innings pitched (48/23)
- 14 wins (12/6)
- 2.47 era (7/4)
- 1.06 WHIP (17/6)
- 11.94 k/9 (1/1)
- 5.4 bWAR as a pitcher (6/3)
So Ohtani gives you the combination of being both a top 10 middle of the order bat in all of baseball, PLUS an ace #1 top of the rotation starter, and by many measurements, one of the very best starting pitchers in all of baseball. They take care of his arm because they want him to pitch and hit, so he doesn't throw quite as many innings as a true #1 ace, but in terms of the quality of those innings, he's basically as good as it gets in baseball.
Total bWAR has Judge ahead, 10.4 to 9.2. What Judge is doing this year is mind-boggling. But it may be the case that we've ALREADY taken for granted what Ohtani does. He's doing things that have never been seen before on a baseball field. Babe Ruth in 1918-19 is the equivalent (I mean, Ohtani's 2021 is, but other than HIM):
Ruth (1919):
- hitting: 543 ab, 103 r, 139 h, 29 hr, 113 rbi, .322/.456/.657/1.114, 9.1 bWAR
- pitching: 9-5, 2.97 era, 133.1 ip, 1.55 whip, 2.0 k/9, 0.8 bWAR
Before 1918 he pitched a LOT more than he hit. 1918 was his first breakout hitting season really. And 1919 represented his last remotely serious pitching campaign as he turned into a full time slugger. Ohtani is giving the Angels PREMIER middle of the order hitting over a full season's worth of at-bats, AND giving them PREMIER, #1 ace starter pitching performance over a workload of a top 50 pitcher in all of baseball.
So I don't know who's "better" or who is even having a "better" season. What both guys are doing is mind-boggling and impossible to compare to one another.
But I want to talk about Judge vs. Ohtani. I know Judge is going to win the MVP, and rightly so - he's having maybe the greatest offensive season (in context) that's ever been had. But who's having the better season overall? Who's the better baseball player? Ohtani clearly represents a totally unique kind of player. Like, as in, we've never seen this before. The only remotely comparable guy is Babe Ruth. So when the Babe is your only even semi-close comparable, you know you're in a world by yourself.
Current stats and rankings (MLB rank/AL rank):
Runs:
- Judge: 130 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 88 (20/8)
Hits:
- Judge: 173 (7/4)
- Ohtani: 152 (26/17)
Home Runs:
- Judge: 61 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 34 (10/4)
RBI:
- Judge: 130 (2/1)
- Ohtani: 93 (16/7)
Total Bases:
- Judge: 384 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 295 (7/4)
Walks:
- Judge: 106 (2/1)
- Ohtani: 71 (15/7)
Avg:
- Judge: .313 (4/1)
- Ohtani: .273 (40/24)
OBP:
- Judge: .425 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .357 (26/16)
SLG:
- Judge: .696 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .530 (9/4)
OPS:
- Judge: 1.121 (1/1)
- Ohtani: .887 (8/3)
bWAR:
- Judge: 10.4 (1/1)
- Ohtani: 3.8 (50/24)
Obviously the hitting is hugely warped in Judge's favor, though if Judge vanished from the face of the earth, Ohtani's overall offensive season would be one of the best in all of baseball. But then there's the craziness that Ohtani also is an elite pitcher, which is something that Judge simply cannot even approach. Here's Ohtani's pitching contribution:
Stat (MLB/AL rank)
- 26 games started (62/28)
- 153.1 innings pitched (48/23)
- 14 wins (12/6)
- 2.47 era (7/4)
- 1.06 WHIP (17/6)
- 11.94 k/9 (1/1)
- 5.4 bWAR as a pitcher (6/3)
So Ohtani gives you the combination of being both a top 10 middle of the order bat in all of baseball, PLUS an ace #1 top of the rotation starter, and by many measurements, one of the very best starting pitchers in all of baseball. They take care of his arm because they want him to pitch and hit, so he doesn't throw quite as many innings as a true #1 ace, but in terms of the quality of those innings, he's basically as good as it gets in baseball.
Total bWAR has Judge ahead, 10.4 to 9.2. What Judge is doing this year is mind-boggling. But it may be the case that we've ALREADY taken for granted what Ohtani does. He's doing things that have never been seen before on a baseball field. Babe Ruth in 1918-19 is the equivalent (I mean, Ohtani's 2021 is, but other than HIM):
Ruth (1919):
- hitting: 543 ab, 103 r, 139 h, 29 hr, 113 rbi, .322/.456/.657/1.114, 9.1 bWAR
- pitching: 9-5, 2.97 era, 133.1 ip, 1.55 whip, 2.0 k/9, 0.8 bWAR
Before 1918 he pitched a LOT more than he hit. 1918 was his first breakout hitting season really. And 1919 represented his last remotely serious pitching campaign as he turned into a full time slugger. Ohtani is giving the Angels PREMIER middle of the order hitting over a full season's worth of at-bats, AND giving them PREMIER, #1 ace starter pitching performance over a workload of a top 50 pitcher in all of baseball.
So I don't know who's "better" or who is even having a "better" season. What both guys are doing is mind-boggling and impossible to compare to one another.
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