There is so much talent in the MLB today it's hard to keep track of who the best baseball player on the planet is. Last weekend showed MLB fans perhaps the most talented series in the league as the New York Yankees met the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game set in the Bronx.
Seven MVP awards are split between the two teams and there is little argument to be made that Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, the two offensive catalysts of their respective lineups, aren’t the two best players in the MLB.
The Dodgers won the series, taking the first two games before the Yankees won Sunday night in a thrilling finale. Judge crushed a homer to left field in the eighth inning. He also drove in a run with a double in the third.
The 2022 AL MVP collected seven hits in the series, three of them home runs. Judge has a 1.048 OPS in his last 30 games.
Ohtani only managed two hits in the series but scored four times and drove in a run on Saturday. He outraced a Judge throw to the plate on Sunday night to score on a sacrifice fly.
After the game, a 6-4 Yankees win to avoid the sweep, Judge declared that Ohtani is “the best player out there,” per SNY.
In terms of individual accolades, the two stars are about even. Ohtani has two MVPs to Judge's one, while Judge has five All-Star selections and three Silver Slugger Awards against Ohtani's three and two, respectively.
The last two AL MVPs are once again MVP candidates in 2024. It would surprise no one if Judge and Ohtani were the two MVPs this year.
Yankees-Dodgers play potential World Series preview
Major League Baseball is always looking for better ways to market the game's stars. All three of the Yankees-Dodgers games last weekend were on national television, giving the entire country access to some of the best players in the league.
If the Yankees and Dodgers were to meet in the World Series in October, there may be no containing the excitement that the league would have. Being able to promote a championship series that features Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Gerrit Cole and so many more with two historic franchises would be music to MLB's ears.
The storyline of Ohtani playing in his first postseason is enough to make people tune in. The matchups and long series are what keep people hooked though and a matchup like the Yankees and Dodgers would feed an enormous audience.
This series was missing some stars in Cole, Juan Soto and Clayton Kershaw, but it still delivered three brilliant games with drama and highlight plays from the superstars on each team. That is what you want to see in a highly anticipated series.
Aaron Judge is the perfect player to lead a Yankees revival and he is well on his way to a second MVP trophy if he keeps playing as he has been. The Yankees could secure the top seed in the American League and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs a year after winning 82 games.
The Dodgers keep on rolling and are cruising to another NL West crown. They'll face some playoff demons of years past but have arguably the most talented roster in the league with reinforcements still coming.
Follow Us
Subscribe