Yes, but only if he can hold off Yordan Alvarez for the league Exit Velocity title. That’s what’s really important.*
*sarcasm
One argument I see is that Ohtani provides services as a pitcher (a great pitcher) in addition to his batting.
But when Ohtani is a hitter, he’s a DH. Judge is an outfielder. He won the Fielding Bible Award last year for his abilities in right field, which means that he was considered (by sabermetrics) to be the best right-fielder in MLB. It’s not the Gold Glove, but it’s more than nothing.
I think you have to consider that as well when determining how valuable a player he is. As great as Ohtani is, I would still give it to Judge.
I don’t think RickJay is overlooking Ohtani’s role as a pitcher, as neither of the stats he put forward ignore them either.
The argument for Ohtani for MVP is simple - WAR is a very good metric, but it unfairly penalizes Ohtani’s role as DH, as well as the roster flexibility he provides his team. Teams that are very good at maximizing their last roster slot (like Tampa and San Francisco) can squeeze an extra 0.5 WAR out of that slot (while Anaheim pisses it down the drain). The DH penalty is 17.5 runs, but I don’t know what that translates to in the calculation. Either way, the cumulative difference tightens considerably between the two players.
I’d still give it to Judge. I think WAR doesn’t translate how much Judge is dominating the offensive landscape. And it’s no longer a matter of it being “the best player on the best team”, since the rest of the Yankees have managed to really suck in the 2nd half. But I still wish there was a way to give it to them both.
I hear you there.
Royals have fired President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore. A little surprising to me, since they’d just promoted him from GM to President earlier this year, and he’d seemed to weather the ownership change.
But they’ve been a big disappointment this year for sure.
He’d been a common target of criticism over the years, but he was in charge while the team had its run to the 2015 World Series.
The Kansas City Royals have released President of Operations Dayton Moore. He was the architect of the 2014 pennant winning team, and the 2015 World Series Champions, but also oversaw the last 6 years of absolute futility and squandered draft picks. Baseball has changed dramatically in those 6 years, and Moore showed no inclination or ability to change with it. He did what I had thought impossible the last 30 years - bring a championship to KC. I hope he’s the next MLB commissioner - he’d be a really good one.
Emphasis added.
Explain the logic underlying that conclusion, please. (Python reference)
I was curious and checked - what is the record for most stolen bases in a 60 HR season? I thought Judge might have it already, but Sosa had 18 in his first 60 HR year.
Throughout his tenure he’s shown that he’s incredibly committed to every level of the sport - he has made sure that minor league players in the system are treated far more fairly than those in other systems. He’s also been a huge champion of dedicating resources to other areas of development (I.e. under-resourced communities and countries). His inability to fire coaches when they’ve become ineffective, or can’t see that a 30 year old speedy middle infielder is likely at his peak trade value and won’t be involved in any core rebuild won’t likely come into play in the role of commissioner.
Canada is apparently set to remove covid vaccine requirements for people who enter the country by the end of September, which might have an impact on the Major League Baseball playoffs should the Blue Jays make it.
An all-Philly year. Neither won a pennant, though.
Toronto is selling postseason tickets starting Tuesday, which is interesting in that even if they make the playoffs, which they likely will, there is no guarantee they’ll host a game.
we had to pay for Mariner playoff tickets about two weeks ago.
Tonight Judge batted leadoff, obviously to maximize his plate appearances. The Yanks pounded the Pirates 14-2, but Judge didn’t get #61. He was 2-4 with a walk.
Gleyber Torres hit two home runs during an 8-run 8th inning for the Yanks.
It’s the ninth or tenth straight game he’s led off. Hell yeah, why not?
He actually was the first Expo to come to the plate in their first ever game. Played just 47 games for Montreal before trading him to the Dodgers along with Manny-manny-manny Mota-mota-mota.
Hasn’t it always been that way, playoff-bound and close-enough teams print postseason tickets for any possible searies? Of course these days, not many actual printing of tickets I suppose. I remember in 1981 the league told the Jays to print playoffs tickets because they were close enough and could make it. Remember that was the strike year where the season was split in two. I think the Jays were about 5 games out but in last place and did not expect to make the playoffs, which they didn’t.
2 doubles last night and 2 more runs.
BTW: Severino looked good last night. Gave up 2 hits, 1 BB & 1 run over 5 innings. Yanks might be getting healthy in time for the playoffs.
That’s a great factoid, thanks!
They finished the second half 7.5 games out, and were much closer a few weeks prior to season’s end, but finished the year losing nine of eleven.
The 1981 season saw the NL send four teams to the postseason, and none of them were the two best teams in the league. The Royals that year became the first team to ever make the playoffs with a losing record, but Baltimore, the league’s third best team, did not. It was screwed up.
It’s funny this should come up because I was thinking the other day of how the Baltimore Orioles of that time were one of the best teams no one thinks of, but they were crazy unlucky. The Orioles had no money, and had been bleeding star players to free agency over and over, and yet they just kept winning but coming up short. It must have been so heartbreaking to be an Orioles fan:
1977: 97-64 but missed the division by 2.5 games
1978: 90-71
1979: Lost the World Series in 7 games
1980: 100-62 but missed the division
1981: As above:
1982: Lost the division title on the last day of the season
In 1983 they finally won it all again… but that was really the end of that great era of Orioles teams.