"He's the best player out there" - Yankees captain Aaron Judge heaps praise on Shohei Ohtani after failing to throw Dodgers star out

Aaron Judge didn't get much direct interaction with Shohei Ohtani over the weekend. Since Ohtani isn't pitching this year and doesn't play the field, the two superstars didn't have much between them. There was, however, one play that featured one of Judge's strengths pitted against that of Ohtani.

Ohtani has many strengths, and he is also one of the fastest players in baseball. He put that speed to the test when tagging up on Judge, who has a very strong arm. Ohtani slid in just ahead of Judge's 93.4 miles per hour throw, which was the top velocity for him in 2024.

Judge admitted that he wished he could have thrown it 95 or 96, otherwise, his accurate throw might've recorded the out and kept the lead at two runs heading into the bottom of the eighth.

He said:

"He's a speedster, man. What an impressive athlete. He hit the ball in the park all over. When he's right, he's pitching, doing his thing and he can also tag up from third like that on a short throw. He's the best player out there."

The run cut the Yankees' lead to one. The team could ill afford to be swept at home, so that run was huge. While Judge failed to prevent the run on defense, he immediately provided it on offense in the bottom of the eighth, extending the lead back to two. The Yankees did not surrender the lead.

Shohei Ohtani wins duel with Aaron Judge

Shohei Ohtani's team added two wins to the column over the weekend against Aaron Judge's team. The Los Angeles Dodgers came into Yankee Stadium and took two of three games.

Ohtani had the advantage in the marquee matchup, but Judge outperformed nearly everyone in the stadium. He was 7/11 across the three games with three home runs, two doubles, one walk and five RBI, knocking in five of the 10 runs the team scored all weekend.

Judge has been on a tear over the last month, putting him back in front of the MVP race. For the season, he's hitting .305 with an MLB-high 24 home runs and an astonishing 214 wRC+.