The MVP debates are heating up! One on end, we have major competition at the American League with Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. Both have been doing stellar, up until now, as Judge has hit a slump. But the Yankees star has 51 homers, so things are tilting more toward him. In the National League too, there are two front runners, Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor. While at first glance, it might look like no one can choose Lindor over Ohtani- the reality is quite the opposite. Anytime Lindor steps onto the plate nowadays, fans cannot stop greeting him by loudly screaming ‘M-V-P’ and also showing signs.

Plus, there are insiders like David Ortiz, who has openly sided with Lindor as the real MVP. But it’s difficult to match up to the Los Angeles Dodgers star, breaking records of baseball greats like Babe Ruth! The Japanese icon made history by reaching 40-40, and even then he didn’t stop. Now that he is in the 46-46 club, a club he inaugurated, what says he won’t reach the 50-50 club or more? We are essentially seeing history in the making from him. There are three weeks’ worth of games more to be played, with Ben Verlander from the Flippin Bats, who has openly supported Shohei Ohtani on several occasions, doing it once again. 

Verlander dismisses Lindor’s comparison with Shohei Ohtani

When Shohei Ohtani reached the prestigious club of 40-40, so early in the season—everyone knew this was different. The Japanese icon reached the club the first, not to mention that plenty of games were left. Yet, people have shown their doubt saying Ohtani would be nothing if not for his team. In the same way, people criticize Judge for not being anything without the Yankees. On the Flippin Bats podcast, Ben Verlander mentioned that the conversation is baseless. “It’s not Ohtani’s fault that he has gone from a really bad team to a really good team,” said Verlander. As far as competition with Lindor goes, Verlander says it isn’t even close. 

Verlander mentioned that while Francisco Lindor is a fantastic shortstop, he isn’t close even offensively, and is one of a kind. This is true, given Ohtani has broken the records of baseball greats like Babe Ruth, and Alex Rodriguez, to name a few. And doing it all, when he is recovering from an injury—talk about power. Verlander further said, “But this isn’t close; it’s not close offensively. Shohei Ohtani is one of one in a career. He’s one of one. This season, he is one of one, and he’s not pitching this year. He’s found another way to do something one-on-one: steal 50 bases and hit 50 homers.”

Verlander touched on the fact that this may be the last time baseball fans see 50-50 happening. Because Ohtani will pitch next season, so he won’t run much. And with the power he has shown this year, there could be no one to match it. We just recently witnessed his power when he made it to the 46 Club. His shot was so high and thrown to a part of the stadium where no one had thrown before. Authorities had to double-check if it was even an accountable shot! Verlander said, “So, this will probably be the one and only time we ever see it. He should win an MVP award for it as well.”

Does Francisco Lindor have a shot at the MVP?

If Shohei Ohtani hadn’t gotten injured last season and had resorted to pitching more, Lindor might have had the chance to win the MVP award. But this is a ‘what-if’ scenario. But we can’t deny that Francisco Lindor has been amazing on the diamond with 30 home runs and 84 RBIs. A major point of debate on why it’s Lindor > Ohtani—is that Ohtani doesn’t play defense every day. For some fans, Ohtani is doing less than Lindor, who is doing his best in the defense. David Ortiz, a Hall of Famer, gave a strong message to MLB in an interview recently, “MLB always had an excuse for not giving me the MVP, supposedly because I was a designated hitter. I’m going to see what they do this year. I’ll sit back and wait to see where they run. Besides, Ohtani is MLB’s ‘darling.’”

However, the stats clearly say that Ohtani is the MVP frontrunner. The Japanese star is headed to do something no one has done ever; plus, even if Ohtani didn’t make it to 50-50, because of any injury too, the Dodgers star still has 46-46 – and that’s a record in itself. And Lindor’s season, in comparison to his, fails in comparison. However, former Cleveland Guardians pitcher Jensen Lewis believes that Lindor could have a clear shot if the Mets outshine the other wild card teams since it would make Lindor the most valuable player. 

But with Ohtani’s 7.4 WAR vs Lindor’s 6.3–it’s going to be an immense challenge. Who do you think will the votes drop in more in the Ohtani vs Lindor race? Let us know in the comments.