Published by
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
By Tom Verducci It’s Aaron Judge vs. Shohei Ohtani, and you can’t really go wrong with either choice. Ted Williams lost the MVP to Joe DiMaggio in 1941 despite hitting .406 and leading the league in each slash category. Mickey Mantle crushed Roger Maris in WAR and OPS in 1961 but Maris rode his 61 homers to a narrow win in the MVP voting. Mike Trout led the league in WAR in 2012 but lost the MVP to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. A few MVP debates outlive the voting itself, especially among two superlative candidates. But the one unfolding now in the American League between Aaron Judge and…