After a magical 2022 campaign, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge ran away with the American League MVP Award on Thursday night, securing all but two first-place votes.
The holdouts, both of which voted for Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani, are Angels beat reporters.
Was it homerism?
Perhaps it was, but one of them has attempted to explain his thinking.
Shortly after Judge was announced the winner on Thursday, Sam Blum of The Athletic published an article in which he laid out his argument, including the bold claim that Ohtani had "arguably the greatest season of all time."
Blum's argument ultimately comes down to his belief that Ohtani's rare talents as both a hitter and pitcher put him into a category all by himself.
In 157 games as a hitter, the Japanese star cracked 34 homers with 90 runs, 95 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, while hitting .273/.356/.519. As a pitcher, the right-hander made 28 starts, going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA.
While Judge's offensive numbers -- 62 homers, 133 runs and 131 RBIs -- dwarfed those of Ohtani, Blum thinks Ohtani's pitching prowess gives him the edge.
He was not the best pitcher in the league. He was not the best hitter in the league. But he was top five or better in both. And that’s the definition of value. Not to mention he played in 157 games — 28 as both a hitter and pitcher. He was present and available, and served two roles at an extremely high level.
Blum also posited that there may be a certain degree of Ohtani fatigue among voters and fans, since Ohtani won the award in 2021, and the novelty of his unprecedented excellence may have worn off.
Just because we all oohed and ahhed at his breakout 2021 season (when Ohtani was unanimous), does not mean we should take it for granted a year later. The novelty might not be the same, but the reasons we were enamored with him have only been maintained or improved upon.
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