Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge performed exceptionally well for their respective teams in the regular season. The two are favorites to win the National League and American League MVP respectively. But if there is only one MVP in MLB, who would win it?
Justin Verlander’s brother Ben, an MLB analyst & insider, picked Ohtani for the award over Judge. He addressed his reasons why on today’s episode of his podcast, “Flippin’ Bats with Ben Verlander.”
I think Shohei’s history of 50/50 matters,” Verlander said [timestamp 38:07]. I think the fact that Aaron Judge didn’t break his own record and didn’t break the home run record matters. I think Shohei’s hot finish to the season matters.”
I think Aaron Judge’s cold finish to the season matters. I think Shohei Ohtani stealing 59 bases and getting into scoring position for his team, and scoring runs at a much better pace when he gets on base than Aaron Judge, matters,” Verlander added.
Verlander pointed out the statistics to claim Shohei Ohtani scores faster than Judge. The analyst claimed the Yankees captain scored every five times when he was on base, while Ohtani did the same every 2.1 times he was on base.
As such, Verlander put Ohtani ahead of Judge because of the Dodger’s star’s 50% chance of scoring whereas the Yankees outfielder only had a 20%. Even though Judge’s WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is higher than Ohtani’s, the analyst claimed it is not a good indicator to compare, particularly as the Japanese star played as a Designated Hitter whereas Judge played in the outfield.
Ben Verlander praises Shohei Ohtani for achieving feat last reached by Barry Bonds
Ohtani finished with 411 total bases in the 2024 regular season, the first time a player has topped 400 since Barry Bonds in 2001. For context, Aaron Judge recorded 392 total bases, ranking second, while Bobby Witt Jr. tallied 374 total bases to take third.
Only a few sluggers have reached 400 plus total bases in a single regular season. As such, Verlander praised the Japanese superstar.
“411 total bases have only been exceeded 15 times in Major League Baseball history. Only 19 players in history have even reached 400, and only 30 since 1900. And in 2001, when I said this is the highest total since 2001, yeah, you probably guessed it, Barry Bonds in 2001, the record-breaking year,” Verlander said [38:46 timestamp].
Shohei Ohtani had injured his labrum on his non-throwing arm during the World Series, and he underwent surgery to repair it, the team announced Tuesday. He is expected to return to pitching in the 2025 season, although the surgery to his non-throwing arm is likely to delay his return to the mound.
