Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani had a one-word response to being asked what he thinks when New York Yankees star Aaron Judge steps into the box, saying simply “huge.” In the interview before Sunday's game on ESPN, Ohtani went further into what he takes away from watching Judge over the years going back to his days with the Los Angeles Angels.
“You know I see him every year, but I'm just surprised at how big he is,” Shohei Ohtani said through an interpreter, via ESPN. “And also just regardless of the situation, he's always taking his swing. And that's something that I really can learn a lot from.”
"Huge. ... I’m just surprised at how big he is." 😂 —Shohei Ohtani on what he thinks when he sees Aaron Judge in person 😅 @PerezEd
Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge competed for MVP awards in prior seasons when they were both in the American League. Judge beat out Ohtani in 2022 after beating the American League home run record, then Ohtani won it in 2023 in what was looking like another close race before Judge suffered a toe injury at Dodger Stadium. Now, with Ohtani on the Dodgers and in the National League, the two will not be battling for MVP awards.
Still, it is clear that Ohtani has an appreciation for Judge as a player, and it is cool to see that he is learning from Judge's routine. It is no wonder that the two players are so good, given that they are always learning and trying to get better. Judge's Yankees are trying to salvage the third game of the series against Ohtani's Dodgers, who won the first two games with Teoscar Hernandez doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge living up to the hype in 2024
Knowing that Ohtani and Judge are always learning and pulling from other great players they see, it is no surprise that both of them are having such great seasons, even though Ohtani will not take the mound until the 2025 season.
Ohtani is providing a lot of value with the bat so far this season for the Dodgers, going into Sunday's finale against the Yankees, he had a .311 batting average with a .379 on-base percentage with 15 home runs, according to FanGraphs. He had a 169 wRC+, and a 2.8 WAR, which is incredible for a player who is exclusively a designated hitter. The Dodgers will only get more value from Ohtani when he returns to the mound in 2025.
Judge is on track for another possibly historic season as well, as he was hitting .298 with a .432 on-base percentage and 23 home runs going into Sunday, according to FanGraphs. He upped that home run total to 24 in Sunday's game. He had 4.7 WAR going into Sunday as well, and a wRC+ mark of 210, which is 110% above league average.
We have seen two of the great players in baseball take the stage in the Bronx this weekend.
