"Shohei Ohtani is the AL MVP. Please stop with the Aaron Judge nonsense" "How valuable can you be on one of worst teams in baseball?" - MLB fans debate Shohei Ohtani's chances of winning AL MVP over Aaron Judge

92nd MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard
Fans are divided between Aaron Judge (L) and Shohei Ohtani (R) for this year's American League MVP race.

Shohei Ohtani is dragging his underwhelming team to wins. Aaron Judge, on the other hand, is playing superbly for one of the strongest teams in the league. These are just some of the sentiments from fans in the debate on who should win the American League MVP Award this year.

Reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani and his Angels recently traveled north of the border and dismantled the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels swept the Jays in their three-game series with a scoreline of 22-3.

Ohtani, of course, claimed a victory as the starter in a nine-strikeout performance during the middle game. This improved his record to 11-8 with a 2.67 ERA.

The Japanese superstar is currently batting .265 with an OPS of .874. He has 28 homers, 77 RBIs and 11 stolen bases this season. On the pitching side, he has fanned 176 batters and has looked superb in more than half of his starts.

The Angels have fallen off the cliff and have virtually no chance of making the playoffs this year. That doesn't mean, however, that Ohtani is taking it easy when he's on the baseball field.

Aaron Judge's case compared to Shohei Ohtani's for the American League MVP Award

Like a coin, the debate has another side. Most fans believe that New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge should bag the award this year. Judge has even been hitting absurdly for a star by today's standards.

Aaron Judge owns a .293/.393/.655/1.048 slash line with a league-leading 49 home runs and 109 RBIs.

Judge also led his New York Yankees squad during instances when the offense seemed lost. He has continued to be a consistent bat in the Yankees' order, especially during their recent fall in form. Aaron Judge also sports a higher fWAR (Wins Above Replacement) than Shohei Ohtani. The slugger has an 8.0 fWAR compared to the reigning MVP's 6.7 combined fWAR.

It seems that more people are on the side of Judge's case for MVP. However, given the recent instability of the Yankees, everyone will keep a close eye on further developments within the club.

The two superstars will meet once more as the Angels host the Yankees for a three-game series tonight. First pitch is at 9:38 pm EDT.

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Edited by Jodi Whisenhunt
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