The baseball world is witnessing two generational talents at the same time: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. While Ohtani’s two-way ability makes him one of a kind, Judge’s offensive consistency places him among the greatest hitters in baseball history. Comparing the two is no easy task, but a sports broadcaster has made some unusual claims in the debate over who is better.

“You cannot be in the greatest-ever conversation if your contemporary has 3 separate seasons better than any of your career. This is not complicated,” Max Kellerman wrote on X. “And since Judge’s peak is not quite GOAT, Ohtani — whose best is objectively not as good as Judge’s — has no case.”

What Kellerman wrote came in response to an X post refuting his prior claims.

“Finally, Ohtani has a playoff OPS 120 points higher than Judge, produced two of the greatest postseason performances in the history of the sport, has an NLCS MVP and two rings to Judge’s zero. The more I keep writing, the more absurd your original claims become @maxkellerman,” KingmanSimp wrote on X.

Max Kellerman, the former ESPN First Take co-host whose partnership with Stephen A. Smith ended following a well-publicized fallout, sparked the Ohtani-Judge debate during an appearance on the Game Over podcast with Rich Paul. His argument for Judge being the better player was based on their respective WAR (wins above replacement) figures.

“Aaron Judge has three seasons in his career where Ohtani’s best season for total WAR is not as high as any of Judge’s top three,” Kellerman told Paul. “And yet I keep hearing about how he’s the greatest player of all time when he is clearly and demonstrably not even the best player of his era. He has less value in everything he does than Aaron Judge.”

Aaron Judge, the Yankees captain, who is currently sidelined with a rib injury, has been playing in the big leagues since 2016. He has been playing for the New York Yankees since the start and has established himself as one of the best sluggers in MLB history, winning three AL MVP titles (2022, 2024, and 2025). The 34-year-old has accumulated a career WAR of 64.4. Now, that number is significantly higher than Ohtani’s.

Ohtani has a career WAR of 57.5. However, he has won the NL MVP four times in his career (2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025). But most importantly, Judge lacks the postseason success that Ohtani has under his belt. He helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win back-to-back World Series and possesses two rings now.

The World Series rings are the one thing that has remained out of Judge’s reach. Furthermore, Ohtani also won the NLCS 2025 MVP award. The Yankees’ captain, on the other hand, does not have any individual playoff awards to his name.

Having said that, let’s take a look at their overall stats.

While there is no denying that both players are invaluable to their respective clubs, the reality this season is that they have been dealing with health issues and have been unable to contribute at their usual level. As of now, the Yankees are in second place in the AL East with a 65-45 record, while the Dodgers sit atop the NL West with a 69-42 record.

And yes, everyone has an individual favorite player in sports, but that does not mean another player cannot be as good as him.