Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lost the AL MVP to Shohei Ohtani last season, and he’s clearly still not over it based on his thoughts of this season.
Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lost the AL MVP title to Shohei Ohtani last season, and he’s clearly still not over it. According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, Guerrero spoke on the possibility of Ohtani winning AL MVP again this season and stated, “To be honest, I think if they give it to Shohei Ohtani it will be another steal. Aaron Judge’s numbers are way above Ohtani’s. Ohtani is an excellent player, but for me, the MVP has to be Aaron Judge.”
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on the 2022 AL MVP: “To be honest, I think if they give it to Shohei Ohtani it will be another steal. Aaron Judge’s numbers are way above Ohtani’s. Ohtani is an excellent player, but for me, the MVP has to be Aaron Judge.”@z101digital @ZDeportes pic.twitter.com/nT59bSTJcZ
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) September 15, 2022
The argument for Aaron Judge to be AL MVP is certainly valid, but a win for Ohtani would be well deserved too. Both are making huge impacts in the league and their respective teams, so both should be considered for the award.
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are both deserving of AL MVP, despite Blue Jays star’s words
Opinions on Judge and Ohtani are split when it comes to who should become AL MVP this season. Each player has unique capabilities, and each are great candidates.
Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia shared his thoughts, stating that Ohtani should win the award this season.
“He’s the best player to ever play baseball. He’s the MVP every year that he’s healthy. He continues to get better as a pitcher. You have to give him the MVP … He’s having a better year than last year. I understand everything that Judge is doing. I think it’s going to be incredible to watch him chase down 61 home runs in a Yankees uniform. If it wasn’t for him, they probably wouldn’t be in the playoff picture. This guy (Ohtani) is literally the best player that we’ve ever seen.” –CC Sabathia, via NJ.com
Ohtani is particularly unique because he also hits extremely well. Most pitchers in the league don’t hit at all, so he offers another level of talent that’s nearly impossible to find. As a starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels this season, he’s produced an ERA of 2.55, batting average against of .217 and WHIP of 1.06.
As a designated hitter, he’s hit .265/.355/.534 for an OPS of .889. In 2021, his season was considered “historically significant.” According to Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer, “he led the American League (and tied for the major league lead) with eight triples. He led all players (minimum 250 balls in play) in barrel rate, and he finished in the 97th percentile or higher in average and max exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and walk rate.”
He was also the first two-way player in MLB history with 10+ homers and 20+ stolen bases, as well as the first two-way All-Star player.
He’s performing similarly to last season, so he’s just as deserving as Judge for the AL MVP, despite Guerrero’s negative reaction to the possibility.
