Mike Trout said that Shohei Ohtani had improved from the previous season when Ohtani was locked with Aaron Judge in a race for the American League MVP in 2022.

The three-time AL MVP said so to media and content creator Chris Henderson of Fanatics View at a practice session during the last two weeks of the regular season.

“You can’t take away what Ohtani is doing at the plate and on the mound this year,” Trout had said. “You can argue he is better than last year.”

Shohei Ohtani was the reigning AL MVP coming into the 2022 campaign. The two-way superstar finished the season with a .273/.356/.519 slash line, including 34 home runs and 95 RBIs. He also had his best season on the mound and pitched 166 innings with a 15-9 record, a 2.33 ERA, 219 strikeouts and a 1.012 WHIP.

However, Ohtani eventually finished runner-up to Judge in the MVP race, with Judge earning 98% of the votes. Judge posted a historic campaign, going past the all-time American League single-season home run record set by former New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris in 1961.

He finished the 2022 season with 62 home runs, besides leading the league in walks, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS,and runs scored.

Mike Trout felt battle for 2022 AL MVP between Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge was a “fun race”

Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout have both won multiple AL MVP titles with the Angels (Image Source: Imagn)

Mike Trout had said during the interview with Fanatics View that he couldn’t pick a winner between Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge for the 2022 AL MVP, although he admitted that it was a “fun race.”

“(Judge) was unbelievable the whole year. But the second-half numbers for this playoff push have been incredible,” Trout said. “So, it’s a tough pick. I couldn’t really tell you who it is.”We’ve got, what, 14 games left? And what does [Judge] need, like, one more home run to tie the record?” he added. “And, Shohei is going to pitch twice. So, it’s a fun race.”

Shohei Ohtani spent six years as a teammate of Mike Trout with the Los Angeles Angels before he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent for the start of the 2024 season.

The Japanese superstar won the MVP title in the National League this year, while Aaron Judge claimed the award in the American League for the second time.