Wednesday night's contest between the host New York Yankees and Los Angeles (LAA-NYY Gametracker) has given us a memorable moment in involving the two biggest stars in baseball and the last two American League MVPs, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
While Ohtani unfortunately wasn't lined up to pitch in this series in the Bronx, the two-way living baseball miracle has made his presence felt as the Angels' DH. Ohtani went deep in the series opener for his fifth home run of 2023, and he came within inches of hitting his sixth home run of the season on Wednesday. Unfortunately for Ohtani and the Halos, Judge was patrolling center at Yankee Stadium:
It's always hard to say for certain whether such plays are indeed home run robberies, but to the eye this one appeared to be the genuine thing. Sometimes it's hard to think of Judge as a true plus with the glove, given his abundant physical dimensions, but he's indeed a capable outfielder. Consider this is a very click-and-share reminder of that fact.
Not to be outdone by himself, Judge in the home half of that opening frame notched his first hit of the series. You'll never guess what it was:
So after robbing Ohtani of his sixth homer of the season, Judge swiftly pivoted to hit his sixth homer of the season. How's about some more symmetry:
Ohtani's near-homer left the bat at 111.5 mph, traveled 411 feet, and had an expected batting average of .970. Judge's actual homer left the bat at 111.7 mph, traveled 412 feet, and had an expected batting average of .990.Game of inches, as surely no one has ever said before.
