MLB analyst adamant Aaron Judge has no case for top player right now: "Shohei is just on another planet"
The debate between Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in terms of MLB's best player may never end. Last year, as Judge was on a historic pace and a quest to topple records, he didn't even unanimously win MVP. This year, both are candidates once more and Judge is proving last year wasn't a fluke. On the other side, Ohtani continues to do things that have pretty much never been done before.
Thus, the debate lives on another year. As long as their paces continue, the baseball world could be in for another pleasant MVP race. It does remain hard to envision Ohtani not winning unless Judge or someone else has a historic season, though.
Trevor Plouffe, a former MLB player himself, believes it's not a debate. He is and always will take Ohtani in this debate since Ohtani does things no one else can or has ever done.
I’m never answering this question again. Until Shohei stops being Shohei he’s the best player. Judge is a fucking living legend. I respect everything about him. I’m a huge fan. Statues, HOF, all that stuff for him. Shohei is just on another planet. twitter.com/chrisrosesport…
Plouffe tweeted his support for Ohtani:
"I’m never answering this question again. Until Shohei stops being Shohei he’s the best player. Judge is a f*****g living legend. I respect everything about him. I’m a huge fan. Statues, HOF, all that stuff for him. Shohei is just on another planet."
When asked by co-host Chris Rose if Judge was MLB's best, Plouffe was succint in saying no. He did, however, say that the Yankees' star was the second-best player with ease.
Trevor Plouffe sides with Shohei Ohtani over Aaron Judge, but credits MLB slugger anyway
Given that one pitches and hits and the other hits and plays the field, it is downright impossible to compare Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, but that hasn't stopped the MLB world.
Plouffe did say on the show:
"We need to talk about him and how, you know for a long time, I thought of Judge as a guy that hits homers. He can hit. For some reason, I just didn't have him on that high of a pedestal, I don't know why. Obviously, last season changed my mind. Then you're like, 'Okay, is it an outlier? Can he do this again?' And he's doing it again."
Right now, Judge is on pace to hit over 45 bombs this year despite having missed 10 games with an injury. He could very well have another historic year on tap.