Aaron Judge lauds Shohei Ohtani: “He’s the best player in the game”

NEW YORK — This highly anticipated World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will be a showcase of some of the greatest power hitters the sport has ever seen.
Aaron Judge is obviously at the very top of that distinguished list, but he’s also a student of the game of baseball. He knows talent when he sees it. So, the Yankees’ slugger is uniquely qualified to assess the seemingly unstoppable force that is the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, who has pretty much toyed with MLB pitchers since arriving on the scene from Japan in 2018.
Speaking to the media at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday as the Bombers got back on the field to begin preparations for Friday’s Game 1 of the Fall Classic in Los Angeles, Judge was asked his thoughts about Ohtani, who many believe is the best overall player on the planet.
Judge is in the midst of arguably the best season of his stellar nine-year career. Two years removed from a 62-homer odyssey that earned him his first MVP award, the 32-year-old outfielder is basically a lock to win another after putting together a regular season that featured a .322 batting average, 58 home runs and 144 RBIs. He has yet to go on a similar tear in the postseason, but did hit a pair of homers and drove in five runs in the Yankees’ ALCS victory over the Cleveland Guardians.
Yet despite the fear he puts into the hearts and minds of all opponents, Judge said Tuesday he’s in complete awe of Ohtani, who didn’t quite have his regular season numbers — .310, 54, 130 — but became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 50 homers and steal at least 50 bases in the same season.
What’s more, Ohtani, who is almost certainly going to win his third MVP award, just hit .364 with a pair of homers, 6 RBIs, 9 walks and 9 runs scored in the Dodgers’ six-game win over the New York Mets in the NLCS.
“He hits for average. He hits for power. The speed, doing what he did this year with the 50 stolen bases, I don’t think it got talked about enough. It’s just, he’s an impressive athlete. He’s the best player in the game, and what an ambassador for this sport,” Judge said.
Judge has always been about doing things the right way. Perhaps he thinks like the immortal Joe DiMaggio, who was once asked by a reporter why he plays so hard in every inning of every game, and replied, “Because there might have been somebody in the stands today who’d never seen me play before, and might never see me again.”
Judge seemed to imply that Ohtani may have a similar mindset.
“He plays the game the right way. You see him hustling around the diamond. That just sets such a great example for our youth, and all of the kids are going to be watching this series, so I’m definitely looking forward to this matchup,” Judge said.
The Dodgers are not just about Ohtani. They boast two other former MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman as part of a lineup that is a nightmare for opposing pitchers. Los Angeles’ hitters work counts relentlessly and make meals out of mistakes.
Though the Dodgers’ starting pitching will likely be a work in progress due to a plethora of injuries, they have an army of top-flight relievers who can eat up innings, and, more importantly, get big outs.
“They are a great ballclub. They are a complete team. You can talk about their offense where they start off with the MVPs back-to-back-to-back there. They have a great pitching staff. I know they added a couple of bullpen pieces. They are just a complete team. They are fast, they’re athletic, they hit the ball out of the ballpark. Just a truly dynamic team,” Judge said.