Shohei Ohtani vs Aaron Judge: Who's had the worse World Series performance so far after Game 4?
Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were poised to bring the fire to the World Series and lead their teams to the sport's biggest prize. However, the series hasn't gone the way either would have expected, with both posting a .133 average in four games.
Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are the fronrtunners to take home the MVP awards for the season in either league. For the last three years, the pair competed for the American League MVP spoils, with Ohtani, the former Angels star, winning in 2021 and 2023, while Yankees captain Judge took home the 2022 honors.
This year, after Ohtani made a $700 million move to the National League, both players notched up two of the best offensive seasons of all time. The Japanese superstar became the first player in history to hit a 50-50 season, with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases for the Dodgers. Judge, meanwhile, outshone all hitters in homers, OBP, OPS and RBIs and was four home runs shy off his AL record of 62 posted two years back.
However, that form hasn't quite transfered to the World Series for either Ohtani or Soto. Both players have an identical 2-15 record in four games. Judge got his first RBI in the World Series with a single in the ninth for the Yankees on Tuesday.
Ohtani, though, is yet to make a significant contribution to his team's score although he's battling with a partial shoulder dislocation suffered in Game 2 at the Dodger Stadium last week.
Aaron Judge applauds Anthony Volpe's incredible Game 4 performance against Shohei Ohtani's Dodgers
While Judge hasn't yet made a significant impact in the World Series, his teammates have come to the fore.
On Tuesday, Yankees shorstop Anthony Volpe hit a grand slam in the third innings, which gave the Yanks the lead after Freddie Freeman had put Shohei Ohtani and Co. on top. The Yankees captain commended his shortstop's efforts in the post-game interview.
"That was a special swing I had a good view at third base for that one," Judge said about the grand slam.
The Yanks will hope for more of the same, especially from Aaron Judge, if they are to become the first team in history to force a Game 6 after going 3-0 down in the World Series.