For nearly 61 years, Hall of Famer Roger Maris remained the home run king of the American League. The 61 home runs he hit in the 1961 season was one of the greatest challenges any player could face. During all that time, the hitters who tried to reach the bar set by Maris, fell one by one until in the 2022 schedule, Aaron Judge emerged to claim the crown by hitting the fence 62 times.
The number of home runs he established last year, plus the contribution he had by driving in 131 runs earned Aaron Judge the appointment as the Most Valuable Player of the season and also a contract of 360 million dollars that the Yankees put on the table to retain their current captain.
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Following a similar formula to Judge’s, Japan’s Shohe Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels’ pitching and hitting sensation has turned down offers his team has made him to extend the relationship. Both Judge and Ohtani bet on himself to be able to trade with his stats on the table.
So far the strategy has worked for the only two-way player currently in Major League Baseball. His ability to throw and hit make him the most desired Swiss Army knife in human history. According to estimates made by industry specialists, Shohei Ohtani will win the highest contract (500 million dollars) ever signed by any athlete in the American leagues.
But as teams prepare to seduce the Japanese unicorn in free agency, Ohtani is establishing himself as the natural MVP candidate and ending Judge’s short reign in the process.
As the Yankees captain recovers from a big toe injury, the samurai has slowly become a serious threat to topple the Judge at the pinnacle of homers.
Shohei Ohtani has taken his performance to a whole new level.
Even before the weekend game, the two-way player boasts a remarkable .306/.390/.670 batting line with 31 home runs.
Shohei Ohtani turned in a performance in June that hasn’t happened in the recent past and one that will be hard to match at least by any player not named Shohei Ohtani. Last month, the Japanese made almost daily news by hitting 10 home runs in 16 games. He currently ranks first for the most home runs in the entire league, with three more than Atlanta’s Matt Olson.
HOW MANY HOME RUNS WILL OHTANI HIT AT THE END OF THE YEAR?
While Ohtani is still halfway there, some protections by Zips say he has a 15 percent chance of matching Ruth’s 60 home runs, an 11 percent chance of catching Maris at 61 and an 8 percent chance of catching Maris at 61. percent to tie Aaron Judge’s record.
Estimates considering several scenarios hold that Ohtani has a 5.5 percent chance of taking the crown from Aaron Judge as the player with the most home runs in a season.
2023-07-06 19:03:48
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