Shohei Ohtani dropped a noble quote about Aaron Judge before the World Series showdown

The New York Yankees face the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday in a star-studded clash between the two storied MLB franchises.

One of the biggest storylines of the highly anticipated Fall Classic will be which star from which team can take control of the series – will it be Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani, Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, or perhaps someone else?

Before Game 1 of the World Series at Dodgers Stadium, Ohtani had a few words of praise for Judge in an interview with Fox's Kevin Burkhardt.

“When you look at Aaron, what do you notice?” Burkhardt asked Ohtani.

“As a baseball fan, I am happy to see such a great player on a great team like the Yankees,” Ohtani responded. “It’s a real joy to see him perform so well year after year.”

The judge also praised Ohtani ahead of the Yankees-Dodgers clash, calling the Dodgers' two-way star “an impressive athlete” and “the best player in the game.”

Judge and Ohtani each hit a career-best 50 home runs during the regular season, with Judge leading the majors with 58 home runs while Ohtani's 54 home runs led the National League. This is the Yankees' first World Series berth since 2009 and Ohtani's first World Series berth in the first MLB playoff run of his career.

All eyes will be on both stars ahead of Friday night's matchup, which pits the Yankees' Gerrit Cole against the Dodgers' Jack Flaherty.