Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani dominate baseball

In the most important part of the season, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani once again proved why they are among the best offensive players in Major League Baseball history.

As the Yankees fight to secure an American League East Division title and a postseason first-round bye, Judge has accomplished something only six other players have ever accomplished: a second season of 11 or more wins over substitute players. On Wednesday night, he hit a home run in his fourth straight game, giving him 57 points on the season.

After a slow start to September, he has once again put himself in position to potentially become the first player outside of the steroid era to hit 60 or more home runs twice in his career. And even that highlights how good he has been on offense this year.

According to Fangraphs, Judge contributed 94 runs, which is above what an average hitter would expect in 2024. This is the best offensive season post-integration and outside of the steroid-addled Barry Bonds since 1957. Bonds' 2001, 2002 and 2004 seasons were higher…and that's it. Always.

Thanks in part to the diminished offensive environment in 2024, Judge's weighted runs-plus number, a league- and position-adjusted statistic where 100 is league average, is 219. He was nearly 120% better than a league-average hitter. And it increased his career mark to 173, the third-highest in baseball history behind Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. We are witnesses to history in the truest sense of the word.

And Shohei Ohtani is doing his best to keep up.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 23: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam home run, his 40th home run of the season, against the Tampa Bay Area on August 23, 2024 at Dodger Stadium Bay Rays beat in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are somehow still underrated

The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to win their 11th NL West Division title in 12 seasons due to injuries, poor performance and a decimated starting rotation.

READ: The Dodgers keep finding new ways to lose with game-winning triple plays

But in their most important game of the season on Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres, Ohtani tested the team again. With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs, Ohtani destroyed Dylan Cease's 117 mph first pitch and hit a double off the wall, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead.

After Jack Flaherty allowed a home run to Fernando Tatis Jr., Ohtani came to the plate again in the bottom of the sixth inning with 1st and 2 and two outs. And once again he absolutely demolished a ball at 109 miles per hour to score the go-ahead shot. After years of languishing in the baseball wilderness of Anaheim, he immediately demonstrated what playing in meaningful games meant to him.

The Dodgers held on for a 4-3 victory, reducing their magic number to two. It also secured some more impressive offensive stats in 2024.

With 396 total bases, Ohtani has the most in a single season since 2001, in the heart of the steroid era. He needs just four more bases and four games to become the 19th player in history to hit .400 in a season. The double was his 96th extra-base hit of the year, the most in a season since 2013. He is also just the 12th player to reach 96 extra-base hits since 1950 and the 8th since 1938 to do so that's how many total bases and extra-base hits he had in a season.

Oh, and he also stole his 56th base of the year. For a player with 53 home runs or more in a season, that's the highest stolen base total in history – 32. Alex Rodriguez had 53 home runs and 24 steals in 2007. Ohtani has 53 and 56 with three games coming up at Coors Field this weekend.

Ohtani also now has nine for his last 10 runners in scoring position, the highest RISP batting average for a player in a seven-day period in the last 40 years. No wonder he's 17 in his last 24 games at bat.

With the Dodgers' division and playoff hopes hanging in the balance, Ohtani is playing his best baseball of the season. This cements another MVP award and reminds baseball fans once again how well he and Judge can hit.