We're witnessing two transcendent stars at their peaks. Soak it all in

This browser does not support the video element.

Surprising absolutely no one, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge won the National League and American League MVP Awards, respectively, on Thursday night. The announcements capped two of the greatest seasons in recent baseball memory.

Ohtani put up a 54 HR-59 SB season, and Judge ¡­ well, Judge may have been an even better hitter than that in 2024. There wasn¡¯t much debate here, evidenced by a unanimous vote for both of them.

It would seem that both Ohtani and Judge have secured their places in baseball history. After all, they¡¯re the two most famous baseball players in the world right now -- you might have caught them at the World Series, don¡¯t forget about that. This isn¡¯t even their first go-around as MVPs: This is Ohtani¡¯s third trophy (second in a row, and in two different leagues), and Judge¡¯s second. And it¡¯s not like they¡¯re going away anytime soon, either. Ohtani is signed with the Dodgers through the 2033 season, and Judge will be in the Bronx at least through 2031. We¡¯ll be watching them, in their current uniforms, for a while.

This browser does not support the video element.

But history has a way of playing tricks on us, and our perceptions of it. For undeniable reasons specific to each player, it seems clear, when their careers are over, that their collective counting stats ¨C the big, round numbers that we use to identify Hall of Famers ¨C will be smaller than we might have expected. Thus, when future generations spend the decades after they retire looking back at them on Baseball-Reference and MLB.com, they might not realize just how great these players were ¡­ because those final totals won¡¯t necessarily pop. This isn¡¯t a reason to downgrade their careers, of course, no matter what happens moving forward. It¡¯s a reason to appreciate them right now -- a chance to reflect on just how good their peaks really have been, and how lucky we are to get to watch them as they reach that point.

First off, Ohtani. Obviously, he is a special case. He is not only a unique player in the Majors, serving as a starting pitcher and a lineup linchpin, but his achievements are very much appreciable in the moment: He is literally the only player to have done what he is doing, at this level. But much of Ohtani¡¯s appeal is wrapped up in that inherent risk, that tension between the miracle of what he¡¯s doing and the fear that he won¡¯t be able to do it forever. We have proof of that, of course: He didn¡¯t pitch at all in 2024. It didn¡¯t stop him from winning the MVP anyway.

This browser does not support the video element.

But is it reasonable to expect Ohtani to continue pitching for the rest of his contract with the Dodgers? Through 2033? Probably not, right? And even if he does pitch for the next half-decade or so, it¡¯s unlikely he¡¯ll put up enough innings for his mound numbers to ever truly blow anyone away. For all his success so far -- before a second Tommy John surgery, it must be reminded -- he has thrown only 481 2/3 innings in MLB. For perspective, that¡¯s fewer than such luminaries as Andrew Chafin, Griffin Canning, Dakota Hudson and T.J. McFarland. He¡¯ll throw more, but he¡¯s not even halfway to even, like, Jos¨¦ Ure?a and Marco Gonzales. Which means it¡¯s going to be his hitting that makes the numbers add up.

There are inherent limitations there, too. Ohtani is 30 years old, turning 31 in July, and he ¡°only¡± has 225 homers for his career. That¡¯s eighth among active players to that point in their careers, just seven more than Anthony Rizzo and 10 more than Francisco Lindor. And most players don¡¯t keep up the same pace in their 30s. While Ohtani hasn¡¯t actually missed a lot of time at the plate to injury in recent years ¨C he¡¯s 15th in MLB in games played since 2021 ¨C his two-way exploits likely do raise the risk of injuries that actually could harm his availability with the bat. That might make a milestone like 500 homers a lot more difficult to reach than it would seem right now.

This browser does not support the video element.

Judge may have even more issues, considering he¡¯s two years older than Ohtani with a spottier health record, not to mention the challenge of being 6-foot-7 and 282 pounds. Judge didn¡¯t even reach the Majors until he was 24 years old and won Rookie of the Year at age 25. (Here is your reminder that Juan Soto just turned 26.) That late start has always made it difficult for Judge to reach the counting stats you¡¯d think a guy who has hit at least 58 homers twice would be able to reach. (The truncated 2020 season hurts him, and Ohtani, and everyone from this era, here as well.)

This means Judge has ¡°only¡± 315 homers and 1,026 hits; remember how shocked everybody was when he reached the 1,000-hit mark last year? Now, obviously, Judge can pick up those homers fast, including 157 of them over the past three seasons. But those came during his early 30s, and there is much historical worry to be had over how players his size age. Are we certain he¡¯s going to make it to 500 homers? My colleague Andrew Simon tried to figure this out in August, and one estimate, via Bill James¡¯ Favorite Toy tool, gave Judge an 82 percent chance of reaching 500, and 37 percent chance of reaching 600. Both of those figures, frankly, strike me as a little bit high. Either way: Judge¡¯s number is probably going to end up lower than most people think based on his name, and reputation.

If I¡¯ve learned anything over my years of writing about baseball, it¡¯s that the further you get away from a player¡¯s actual career, and what you watched during it, the more you rely on that stat sheet. This isn¡¯t a bad thing: It¡¯s why people finally came around to appreciating Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines well after their careers ended, in a way they didn¡¯t when those guys were playing. But it also can make it so that you forget, in the haze of statistics, just how overwhelming and dominating a player was at his peak. (It¡¯s why everybody who watched Dale Murphy felt like they were watching a Hall of Famer when they saw him, though his career numbers didn¡¯t end up that impressive.)

Right now, it seems obvious that the best players of this era are Ohtani and Judge. But I wonder if that will be as obvious in 20 years, when all is said and done ¡­ and those career numbers fall behind those of guys like Soto, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado or whomever. That¡¯s especially true for those who won¡¯t remember watching Ohtani and Judge at their best.

This is not to say that these are not future Hall of Famers: Ohtani and Judge clearly are. But the only way to truly appreciate how transcendent they are right now is to watch them right now. Because ultimately, the career stats won¡¯t do as much as they should to remind us.

These are otherworldly baseball players, at their peak, right now. We¡¯re lucky to get to see it. We may be the only ones who, in the end, truly understand it.

More from MLB.com

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com