Ohtani, Judge are named MLB’s most valuable players

The baseball universe has rarely been so neatly organized, with a sun and a moon at the center of its many other stars. But Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani have been pulling the sport into their formidable orbits for years. And on Thursday night, when they won the American League and National League MVP awards, respectively, they again made clear this era revolves around them.

Both won baseball’s highest individual honor by a unanimous vote. Both were, by far, the most powerful and feared hitters in their respective lineups and leagues from the start of the season to its finish. Both compiled those best-in-class seasons while facing expectations that they would do exactly that, no small feat in a mentally taxing sport with a tendency to make expectations feel like anvils. Both led their teams to the World Series, though of course they had help.

Judge, the New York Yankees outfielder, finished third in the majors in batting average (.322) while also slugging 58 homers and compiling a 1.159 OPS. Since 2000, a player has finished the season with a higher OPS than that just seven times. One of them was Juan Soto in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Four of them were Barry Bonds in the heart of the steroid era.

Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ designated hitter, hit .310, second in the NL, while smacking 54 homers and stealing 59 bases, becoming the inaugural member of the 50-50 club in the process. His was one of the more impressive displays of power and speed the sport has ever seen. It was also, without a doubt, the best offensive performance ever registered by a starting pitcher rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.

If there was a knock against either’s candidacy, it was in their relative value to rosters that had plenty of stars around them. Ohtani played with two former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Judge played with another AL MVP finalist in Soto. Pitchers had to challenge them more than they might have without those stars around them. But pitchers were also as careful with Judge and Ohtani as they are with anyone in the sport, and still, no one punished pitchers more.

To the extent that either man had a legitimate challenger for the award, the most formidable was probably New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor for Ohtani. Lindor played 152 games, all but one of them at shortstop, and therefore contributed more to the Mets on a nightly basis with strong defense than just the 33 homers, .273 average and .844 OPS he offered offensively. Ohtani, of course, did not play an inning of defense. He was only on the field for a few minutes a night.

But those few minutes were enough to make history, over and over. He led the NL in plate appearances, runs scored, home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and total bases. His 9.1 FanGraphs wins above replacement were a full win better than Lindor’s and three better than the next-best NL player, Elly De La Cruz. Only two players had a higher FanGraphs WAR, AL MVP finalist Bobby Witt Jr. (10.4) and Judge (11.2).

This is Judge’s second AL MVP award and Ohtani’s third — but first in his new league. And with Ohtani locked into the NL for the foreseeable future, the pair seem likely to enter next year as the early favorites to win the awards again.

Perhaps Judge, who turns 33 in April, will see his production fall with age or see fewer good pitches to hit if Soto signs elsewhere in free agency. And some have wondered whether Ohtani, 30, can produce as well offensively when he is also pitching — though, of course, it was the pitching regularly while also hitting that earned him those previous two MVPs. So here they are, the two pillars of the sport, who led their leagues in homers and led their teams to the World Series, now the 2024 MVPs.

Other MLB Award Winners

Rookie of the Year: Luis Gil, Yankees (AL), Paul Skenes, Pirates (NL)

Manager of the Year: Stephen Vogt, Guardians (AL), Pat Murphy, Brewers (NL)

Cy Young: Tarik Skubal, Tigers (AL), Chris Sale, Braves (NL)