Expert Compares Ohtani and Judge’s Exceptional Hitting

What do two people who are active in different dimensions have in common?

Heroes know heroes – and heroes know heroes. Aaron Judge, 32, the Yankees’ MVP this season, praised the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, 30, on the official “X” of the Players Association on October 27 (Japan time).

He’s a special player. He can play both starting pitcher and fielder. He amazes me every day.

Otani and Judge are two of the best hitters in the majors. Both won the double crown for home runs (Otani 54, Judge 58) and runs batted in (130 and 144), and both led their teams to the World Series.

This magazine asked Professor Takashi Kawamura of Tsukuba University, an expert in the field, to analyze the hitting form of these two players who are performing on a different level. What are the similarities and differences between the two players?　We will look at a series of photos and listen to Kawamura’s commentary.

Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani

◉ Aaron Judge, Yankees

The starting point of (1) is common. The head position is stable with little or no movement. The trajectory of the ball is well observed.”

The difference begins with (2).

Ohtani puts his left elbow inside his body and tries to move the head of the bat a lot. He is trying to accelerate his swing speed, catch the ball when the tip of the bat is running the fastest, and make it fly farther. Judge, on the other hand, uses his strong back muscles to bend his body and swing the bat down in a straightforward manner. Rather than a heady approach, he uses his power to make solid contact with the ball. It is a form that seeks certainty rather than speed in the swing.

The commonalities come out again in (3). Both shoulders, elbows, and grips form a pentagon.

Normally, the arms would be fully extended, but the two players are able to effectively impact the ball without breaking the pentagonal shape. This is because their shoulder blades and rib cage are firm.

The finishing movements in (4) through (5) are very different between the two players.

The first is to make the ball go farther by using the head more aggressively. He moves his grip widely and the bat is swung behind his back in the follow-through. Judges who try to reliably catch the ball with the core (shin) of the bat have a compact swing and almost no change in the shape of the grip. He also finishes his swing with his head above his head.

When you realize how superior their one-of-a-kind hitting form is, it’s easy to see why the two are able to dominate major league pitchers.

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From the November 15, 2024 issue of FRIDAY