The 2023 MLB season is coming to a wildly unexpected end. The AL’s fortunes have turned around, with teams once at the zenith now trying to finish the season with dignity. Two of the most talked about players in the league have reversed positions throughout the season. As Shohei Ohtani, who had already missed 11 consecutive games, takes his turn on the IL, Aaron Judge shines.

The Japanese superstar’s two-way play has been put on hold this year with another UCL tear in his right elbow. While the possibility of pitching is out before Ohtani gets surgery, there used to be a chance of hitting. But a right oblique injury has kept him out of the lineup since Sept. 3. In the meanwhile, the New York Yankees captain has returned from his Dodger Stadium fiasco in full glory.

With no more Shohei Ohtani to rival, Aaron Judge takes center stage

Whatever field one works in, a competitor pushes one to bring out their best. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani often receive comparisons as they compete to be the best in the AL, and then take over the league. But now that the Los Angeles Angels sensation is out for the count, the Yankees captain will not relent. He just hit his 6th career grand slam in a game against the Boston Red Sox.

Ohtani had a fiery hot streak before the All-Star game, though his engines cooled a bit afterward. Nevertheless, he led the league in home runs at multiple points in the season. However, injuries have derailed him since then and he’s stuck at 44. In fact, he will be going for surgery soon on the ligament tear in his pitching elbow. This piece of news arrived after the Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star was marked as out of playoff contention on the Saturday due to an oblique injury.

“We kind of had a feeling that something was coming,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “He fought it. He tried. He’s upset by it. But it just got to a point, an understanding that he just wasn’t going to be able to go again this year.”

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The rest of the American League, including Aaron Judge, is slowly catching up to him. Though the Yankees slugger missed two months of playtime, he’s already at 32, the fourth in the AL. Judge’s heroics from the last season weren’t just a coincidence, it seems. Many are wondering if his exceptional performance this season, as if he never left, may be enough to once again steal the MVP from Ohtani. Because what was once supposed to be an imminent return keeps getting delayed.

When Will Ohtani Return?

The LA Angels have no concrete updates just yet because their star slugger is day-to-day. Originally thought to be an injury that would keep him out for 3-4 days, it has prevailed for almost two weeks. Ohtani’s looming free agency means that it might be one of the last chances for him to play in Angels colors.