Shohei Ohtaniand Aaron Judge are both having historic seasons so far.
Through the first half of his inaugural campaign with the Dodgers, Ohtani has been worth every penny of his 10-year, $700 million contract. As of July 7, he is fourth in the league in batting average (.316), second in the league in home runs (28) and tied for fifth in the league in RBIs (65).
At the start of the season, Ohtani opened up at +950 to win NL MVP — it probably had something to do with the fact that he’s not pitching this season — but he’s since surged up the oddsboard because of his dominance at the plate.
Now, Ohtani is the -230 favorite to win the award.
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Remarkably, Judge is arguably having just as dominant a season as Ohtani, if not better.
As of July 7, the Yankees sluggers leads the league in home runs (32) and RBIs (83), and is eighth in the league in average (.312). In the month of June, he hit .409 with 36 hits, 11 homers and 37 RBIs.
He is currently the -260 favorite to win AL MVP.
In fact, Ohtani and Judge’s performances have been so impressive that DraftKings Sportsbook has posted MVP odds for “Ohtani vs. the field” and “Judge vs. the field.”
Let’s take a look at the odds.
Aaron Judge vs. Any Other Player:
Aaron Judge: -260 (bet $10 to win $13.85 total)
Any other player: +200 (bet $10 to win $30 total)
Shohei Ohtani vs. Any Other Player:
Shohei Ohtani: -230 (bet $10 to win $14.35 total)
Any other player: +180 (bet $10 to win $28 total)
Adding to their individual success is the fact that their teams have been successful as well.
As of July 7, the Yankees have the third-best record in the American League, and the Dodgers have the second-best record in the National League, despite being without seven-time All-Star Mookie Betts since June 16.
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