"Aaron Judge doesn't have Mookie Betts & Freddie Freeman" - Top analyst sees Yankees captain's 2024 MLB season more remarkable than Shohei Ohtani's

It is truly a special time for baseball fans as they are currently being treated to spectacular seasons from Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. While there are a number of impressive superstars across the MLB, Ohtani and Judge have taken their stardom to another stratosphere and both are frontrunners for their league's respective MVP Awards.

"Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are both going for historic seasons in their own way! Judge (51 HR) is on pace to break his AL home run record (62) set in 2022. Ohtani (41 HR/40 SB) could put up the first 50/50 season in MLB history" - @MLB

However, as has been the case for Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge over the past few seasons, questions have been raised about which star is having the better 2024 campaign. While Shohei Ohtani is on track to potentially become the first player in MLB history to record a 50 home run and 50 stolen base season, veteran sports analyst Chris "Mad Dog" Russo is leaning toward the New York Yankees captain.

"Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge? Who's having the MORE IMPRESSIVE season? | First Take" - ESPN MLB

One of the reasons why Russo is favoring Judge to Ohtani is the supporting cast around him.

"Aaron Judge doesn't have Mookie Betts & Freddie Freeman hitting around him, he has Austin Wells batting clean up [1:54]," Chris Russo said in the latest episode of First Take.

It is true that perhaps the New York Yankees do not have the lineup depth of the Los Angeles Dodgers, however, they are not without their own stars. Judge's teammate Juan Soto currently finds himself in discussions for the AL MVP Award as well.

While this might sound crazy to some, Judge has been a force to be reckoned with all season for the New York Yankees. The hard-hitting outfielder remains on track to surpass the American League single-season home run record, which he also set back in 2022.

Stephen A. Smith believes that Shohei Ohtani has been more impressive than Aaron Judge

Soon after Chris "Mad Dog" Russo made his case for Judge, his First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith went in the other direction. Despite having a history with Shohei Ohtani, Smith believes that the number of obstacles that Ohtani has had to overcome this year makes his performances even more impressive than the Yankees superstar.

"To be smacking it all over the place out of the park, I mean my God, this dude is special [4:10]," - Stephen A. Smith said of Ohtani.

As previously mentioned, Ohtani has the opportunity to become the first player in MLB history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. Aside from his abilities at the plate, the Japanese superstar has not only been recovering from UCL surgery but also had the off-field distraction of his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stealing millions of dollars from him.

Like every sport, there will always be debate about which player is better, including Michael Jordan and LeBron James or Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. One way or the other, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge will always be linked to one another.