There's not much disagreement that the best players in the first half of 2024 are Aaron Judge (31-New York Yankees) in the American League and Shohei Ohtani (30-LA Dodgers) in the National League. Judge leads the league in home runs and Ohtani leads the National League in home runs.

Ohtani, who underwent season-ending elbow surgery last year, won't be able to pitch this year. Due to his throwing limitations, he can't even play the outfield, where he played in Japan. This year, he will focus on hitting as a designated hitter. The question of “how will Ohtani perform if he focuses on hitting” has been a common one, and this year, the answer is clear. His batting performance alone could be the main reason for his massive 10-year, $700 million contract.

In 94 games in the first half, Ohtani batted .316 with a .400 on-base percentage, .635 slugging percentage, 1.035 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage), 29 home runs, 69 RBI, 75 runs scored, 117 hits, and 23 doubles. He became the first player in the majors to join the 20-20 club this year and is on pace to surpass his single-season home run record of 46 in 2021. After winning the American League MVP in 2021 and 2023, Ohtani will try to win the National League MVP this year.

But there's one question that's been raised. Ohtani's position. Ohtani is playing designated hitter this year. In fact, in 2021 and 2023, there may have been hitters with better offensive production than Ohtani. However, Ohtani's two unanimous MVPs were possible because he was also an All-Star caliber pitcher, but this year he's not pitching. He'll have to compete for MVP solely on the basis of his contributions as a fielder.

The problem is that the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) members who vote for the MVP don"t favor designated hitters. Designated 카지노사이트 추천 hitters don't contribute much defensively. It"s usually the case that strong hitters with poor defense are moved to the position. The general consensus is that MVP voting favors “everyday” hitters over pitchers, and especially “everyday” defensive players. And that's exactly what the voters did.

David Ortiz and Edgar Martinez, two of the greatest designated hitters in Major League Baseball history, were ignored in the MVP voting despite their stellar offensive production.

In fact, Martinez had a whopping 185 adjusted OPS in 1995. He was one of the best offensive performers in the league. He should have been in contention for MVP, if not the MVP. However, only four voters gave him a first-place vote, and he ended up finishing third in the MVP voting. The player who finished first in the MVP voting at the time was Mo Vaughn (Boston), whose OPS of .963 was considerably lower than Martinez's (1.107), but he won the MVP. This was the limit of the designated hitter position.

Ortiz finished in the top six of MVP voting six times, but only received 17 first-place votes in his entire career. Ortiz's OPS during this time was better than any other player, but he was overtaken every time by the beasts on defense. Of course, there's also the impact of Alex Rodriguez, the superstar of the time, holding his own each time, but it's an indicator that the MVP voting isn't that favorable to designated hitters.

Ohtani's OPS+ is 190, which is better than Martinez's at his peak. Martinez's highest OPS+ was 185 in 1995, when he finished third in MVP voting. Ortiz's best OPS+ was 171 (in regulation at-bats), which was fourth in MVP voting at the time.

In other words, for Ohtani to challenge for MVP, he needs to continue his current offensive production and not have too much competition. First, Bryce Harper's (Philadelphia) performance will be key. In 81 games in the first half, Harper hit .301 with 21 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .983 OPS. He's a defensive player. If Harper hits, he could be a strong competitor for Ohtani, and the comparisons to Ohtani without the “pitcher's title” will continue to grow. The latter question is whether Ohtani can write the next big story in Major League Baseball history.