Aaron Judge has logged just shy of 7,000 innings in the outfield, while Shohei Ohtani has played out there for 8.1 innings. In fact, Ohtani hasn't played as an outfielder since 2021. Despite that, one former player believes Ohtani could outshine Judge in the outfield.
Former MLB outfielder Eric Byrnes said on The Mayor's Office:
"This is Shohei Ohtani, the best player in the game going toe to toe with Aaron Judge... 1,000% [better than Aaron Judge]. All-around, yes... Maybe not a better hitter, but all-around, yes."
"I would give Judge the edge because Judge is playing defense, but dude! We know Ohtani can play defense. ... I could make Ohtani a Gold Glove outfielder." (5:08 - 6:46)
Byrnes, who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, is confident that Ohtani could easily play and excel in the outfield, noting that his teams just don't choose to put him out there given his immense value as both a hitter and pitcher.
Judge has a career DRS of 49, even after moving to the much more demanding center-field position for much of the last two years. Ohtani's sample size is tiny, but he had zero DRS during that time.
Aaron Judge defers to Shohei Ohtani
Aaron Judge is considered by many to be the best player in the sport. In 2022, his fWAR was higher than the combined pitching and hitting WAR of Shohei Ohtani. In 2024, he led the league in fWAR again, and was worth over two wins more than Ohtani, who did not pitch.
Despite that, Judge is happy to defer to Ohtani about the best player title. The New York Yankees outfielder said via FOX Sports:
"Besides the obvious — I feel like everything's obvious — he hits for average, hits for power, the speed. Doing what he did this year with 50 stolen bases, I know it got talked about a lot, but I don't think it got talked about enough. He's just an impressive athlete. The best player in the game. What an ambassador for this sport."
Ohtani stole more than 50 bases and hit more than 50 home runs, a milestone no player in baseball history had reached before.