Aaron Judge or Connor McDavid

[Lunatik]

What the ***** is this poll?

Also, The Man is better.

Becky Lynch?

 

[Regal]

What Shohei Ohtani does is equivalent to a hockey player getting 100 pts while playing forward and a .920 save percentage as a backup goalie.

Which is incredible in terms of an all around talent, but for value I’d rather a 130 point forward and I find a different backup goalie.

 

[Regal]

I've always wondered if Ohtani being able to do both at a high level (hit and pitch) is why he's so highly regarded rather than because he's actually the *best* at hitting or the *best* at pitching.

I think to some degree the hype over his uniqueness supersedes his actual value, yea, especially since he’s a DH when not pitching. He’s been arguably the best hitter over the past two years combined though since Judge missed time last year

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

McDavid doesn't have a custom home rink designed to exaggerate his strengths.

Ohtani is the better comparison.

 

[Regal]

McDavid doesn't have a custom home rink designed to exaggerate his strengths.

Ohtani is the better comparison.

Yet his home and away splits are close enough that there’s no evident ballpark effect.

 

[Plastic Joseph]

Probably the two most dominant athletes in major North American sports doing silly things in their sport.

Who do you find more impressive and dominant in their sport

Ohtani is easily #1 in the MLB and probably all sports when you consider the pitching (not this year)

The fact that as a DH he is the MVP of the league is absurd considering he was an ace as a pitcher too

 

[QJL]

Probably the two most dominant athletes in major North American sports doing silly things in their sport.

Who do you find more impressive and dominant in their sport

I think Ohtani is the most dominant when he’s pitching, and I’m a Yankees fan.

 

[Plastic Joseph]

Which is incredible in terms of an all around talent, but for value I’d rather a 130 point forward and I find a different backup goalie.

except its not the same thing at all that poster had a bad comparison.

Ohtani is able to pitch the same game he hits in when he is pitching, so its not like you have to take that 130 pt forward out of the lineup.

Also, he's not a backup he is a full blown ace. You can't really compare them apples to apples. I always said it would be like having an MVP level QB who is also one of the best defensive players in the NFL.

 

[Regal]

except its not the same thing at all that poster had a bad comparison.

Ohtani is able to pitch the same game he hits in when he is pitching, so its not like you have to take that 130 pt forward out of the lineup.

Also, he's not a backup he is a full blown ace. You can't really compare them apples to apples. I always said it would be like having an MVP level QB who is also one of the best defensive players in the NFL.

I agree that was a bad comparison, but the argument is somewhat the same in that the fact that he can do both at a high level is extremely impressive but doesn’t provide as much extra value as some suggest. In games he’s able to do both, he’s extremely valuable. But he is also not able to play defense when he’s pitching (and doesn’t even when he’s not), and he’s only pitching every 5 games (when he’s healthy enough to pitch). While he’s one of the best hitters in the game, that value isn’t nearly as strong from the DH spot as it is from a prime defensive position because it’s easy to find a DH who can hit well. The extra value in his bat over a replacement isn’t as strong.

A player who is a better hitter at a prime defensive position like Judge this year can provide similar or better overall value because of the extra value above replacement in his bat. Likewise, a similar hitter at a prime defensive position who is also a plus defender like prime ARod can also provide similar or better overall value, both because of the extra value over replacement at bat and the fact that the plus defense is over every game rather than the plus pitching over ever 5 games. And this plays out in the WAR where he hasn’t really stood out among the very best position players/hitters ever, though admittedly he was trending in that direction last year before being hurt.

I think if he put in a full year as the best/second best hitter in the league and pitched 180 innings at his usual level then he’d provide the value that he gets talked about at, but he hasn’t done that yet.

I don’t think the MVP QB and elite defensive player is a good comparison, because there’s no compromise at either position like there is for Ohtani with his DH status. He’d have to also be an elite defensive player at a plus position when he’s not pitching to provide that much value.

 

[hamzarocks]

McDavid is probably better at baseball than Judge is at hockey

Nah Mcdavid would die/be majorly hurt if he faced a 100 mph fast ball beamed for his head/upper body

Judge would die/be majorly hurt if on skates and got hit by a guy 5'8 guy

Baseball and hockey are way to different

Mcdavid cant play baseball just like Judge Cant play hockey

 

[hamzarocks]

Judge has been better than Ohtani since Shohei made his debut. He has a better WAR in less games with Ohtani’s 15 pitching WAR boost. Ohtani is an incredible and unique talent but as arguably a bigger baseball fan than even hockey I’d say he’s got a ways to go to be close to McDavid in a relative sense. There is no player in baseball that is as good as McDavid relatively and I’d easily argue all of the big 4 sports. Especially statistically.

Mcdavid isnt on the Lebron level dominance yet

He probably has a better peak careerwise as Peak lebron both reg season and playoffs was never as far ahead of the league as Mcdavid was in 2021 and 2023 reg seasons or 2022 + 2024 playoffs *his teammate draisaitl not included for playoffs in 2022

However lebrons extended Prime + Career is the greatest in big 4 sports history, and the only reason he isnt the undisputed goat if NBA is because MJ has the best 6-7 year prime and top 2 or ever in NBA with so much being accompished in 11ish full seasons with the bulls

Mcdavid career wise likely ends up behind Lebron relatively for theie sport

Mcdavid finishes likely at best 2nd and as low as 5th while Lebron is at worst 2nd

 

[hamzarocks]

Which is incredible in terms of an all around talent, but for value I’d rather a 130 point forward and I find a different backup goalie.

A 100 pt in 55 game forward + .920 goalie in 20-25 games >>> 130 forward

.920 goalie is top 2 or 3 in the league in a 25 game size. Likely has a .650-.700 pt % with that high a sv % in the modern NHL

As a goalie, this type of player out of possible 40- 50 pts would bring 30-35 pts for his team just as an elite backup who would be putting vezina caliber numbers for backups of the league.

Then 100 pts in 55ish games is a ppg right there with Mcdavids best ever ppg of 105 in 56 and 103 in 55 (153 pt year paced for 55 games)

If this type of player existed, Mcdavid would be forgotten very quickly in the NHL

 

[Regal]

A 100 pt in 55 game forward + .920 goalie in 20-25 games >>> 130 forward

.920 goalie is top 2 or 3 in the league in a 25 game size. Likely has a .650-.700 pt % with that high a sv % in the modern NHL

As a goalie, this type of player out of possible 40- 50 pts would bring 30-35 pts for his team just as an elite backup who would be putting vezina caliber numbers for backups of the league.

Then 100 pts in 55ish games is a ppg right there with Mcdavids best ever ppg of 105 in 56 and 103 in 55 (153 pt year paced for 55 games)

If this type of player existed, Mcdavid would be forgotten very quickly in the NHL

I figured the implication was 100 point pace, not in 55 games. Ohtani isn’t that player offensively relative to the league. Though I guess he’s also better than a 100 point pace player.

I think you’re wildly overrating the value of a .920 backup. Anthony freakin’ Stolarz was at .925 this year. No one’s out here suggesting he brought 30-35 points for the Panthers this year.

 

[LaMasquerade]

Hate these polls where you have to google the other guy

(Yep, we get zero coverage for baseball here)

 

[WalterLundy]

Mcdavid isnt on the Lebron level dominance yet

He probably has a better peak careerwise as Peak lebron both reg season and playoffs was never as far ahead of the league as Mcdavid was in 2021 and 2023 reg seasons or 2022 + 2024 playoffs *his teammate draisaitl not included for playoffs in 2022

However lebrons extended Prime + Career is the greatest in big 4 sports history, and the only reason he isnt the undisputed goat if NBA is because MJ has the best 6-7 year prime and top 2 or ever in NBA with so much being accompished in 11ish full seasons with the bulls

Mcdavid career wise likely ends up behind Lebron relatively for theie sport

Mcdavid finishes likely at best 2nd and as low as 5th while Lebron is at worst 2nd

I agree with the McDavid peak being better relatively. Basketball’s all time big 4 isn’t as good as hockey’s. McDavid displacing that would prove he is doing something that is harder than lebron did. Also I was only speaking of currently as LeBron’s last year of MVP level impact was 17-18 by the advanced metrics. Seen both and know the details for both and Jordan in his 11 full seasons with the bulls did what lebron couldn’t in his entire career. Better peak, prime, even sample size, etc. Definitely not the best career for lebron. At this point he’s compiling numbers because he can with great care of his body, a high usage rate in a league that has heavily inflated scoring and has been bastardized as a product. Lebron is 2-5 range in NBA history everyone agrees but at this stage all I can say about him is that his longevity is remarkable as his meaningful career has been over for some time.

 

[Nadal On Clay]

I agree with the McDavid peak being better relatively. Basketball’s all time big 4 isn’t as good as hockey’s. McDavid displacing that would prove he is doing something that is harder than lebron did. Also I was only speaking of currently as LeBron’s last year of MVP level impact was 17-18 by the advanced metrics. Seen both and know the details for both and Jordan in his 11 full seasons with the bulls did what lebron couldn’t in his entire career. Better peak, prime, even sample size, etc. Definitely not the best career for lebron. At this point he’s compiling numbers because he can with great care of his body, a high usage rate in a league that has heavily inflated scoring and has been bastardized as a product. Lebron is 2-5 range in NBA history everyone agrees but at this stage all I can say about him is that his longevity is remarkable as his meaningful career has been over for some time.

You’re severally underrating LeBron. He is 3rd in the GOAT list at the absolute worst (if you don’t like him). His career has been objectively better than any player in NBA history outside of MJ and KAJ. There is absolutely a case for him to be #1, as his longevity blows Jordan’s out of the water.

 

[WalterLundy]

You’re severally underrating LeBron. He is 3rd in the GOAT list at the absolute worst (if you don’t like him). His career has been objectively better than any player in NBA history outside of MJ and KAJ. There is absolutely a case for him to be #1, as his longevity blows Jordan’s out of the water.

I’m not. 2-5 is a range I have because some people watched basketball going back a long way. Longevity and the compiling doesn’t vault him over Jordan. That’s a weak argument which is why even though his career is over in any meaningful sense the majority pick Jordan over him. There would need to be a stronger one to have him be a majority #1 all time selection. That won’t happen however. People can try to make it but it’s weak.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Agree, you made an irrelevant statement.
Judge won’t end up all time as high as McDavid will.
This is McDavid for the win.

funny to think with the eye-hand coordination McDavid and NHLers have in general that it would be impossible for them to hit. I think more hockey players would adapt to MLB than MLB players would to the NHL

 

[Arthur Morgan]

You’re severally underrating LeBron. He is 3rd in the GOAT list at the absolute worst (if you don’t like him). His career has been objectively better than any player in NBA history outside of MJ and KAJ. There is absolutely a case for him to be #1, as his longevity blows Jordan’s out of the water.

Ive seen lists like and sorry Im not a big Basketball fan but pretty sure alot of fans view something like this
MJ
Kobe
Magic
Kareem
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Bird
then LeBron unless people put Curry above Im not sure on that one.

 

[hamzarocks]

Ive seen lists like and sorry Im not a big Basketball fan but pretty sure alot of fans view something like this
MJ
Kobe
Magic
Kareem
Bill Russell
Wilt Chamberlain
Bird
then LeBron unless people put Curry above Im not sure on that one.

Those are mostly haters who cant accept lebron has a true claim to being the goat

Kobe for example has zero claim to beibg top 5. He is the crosby of the NBA, not enough accolades to crack that level.

Most peoples top 13 is like:

Tier 1
1. MJ/LBJ
2. LBJ/MJ

Tier 2
3. KAJ

Tier 3
4. Magic Johnson
5. Larry Bird

Tier 4: In any order
Kobe
Duncan
Shaq
Hakeem
Wilt
Russell
Curry
Kevin Durant

 

[GirardSpinorama]

I figured the implication was 100 point pace, not in 55 games. Ohtani isn’t that player offensively relative to the league. Though I guess he’s also better than a 100 point pace player.

I think you’re wildly overrating the value of a .920 backup. Anthony freakin’ Stolarz was at .925 this year. No one’s out here suggesting he brought 30-35 points for the Panthers this year.

I dont think a backup NHL goalie would ever be in the race for a vezina, so it wasnt a good comparison.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Those are mostly haters who cant accept lebron has a true claim to being the goat

Kobe for example has zero claim to beibg top 5. He is the crosby of the NBA, not enough accolades to crack that level.

Most peoples top 13 is like:

Tier 1
1. MJ/LBJ
2. LBJ/MJ

Tier 2
3. KAJ

Tier 3
4. Magic Johnson
5. Larry Bird

Tier 4: In any order
Kobe
Duncan
Shaq
Hakeem
Wilt
Russell
Curry
Kevin Durant

I dunno I think LeBron should be in Tier 4. he just always had to leave to chase his rings I think he personally only earned it himself like once in Cleveland. he from my perspective atleast looked to find the best players to help him win. also sits alot of games, he's been playing 6 seasons longer or something and still chasing MJ.

and no I wouldn't say it;s the opinion of just "haters" his fans just want him to be the best without having to actually become the best. LeBron's problem imo is he doesn't want to be LeBron James. he wants to be Michael Jordan. guy literally made Space Jam 2. was no reason to make it. just wants to be everything Jordan is and not make his own legacy.

that's how I view him atleast.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Lol, who actually voted Judge?

 

[Ford Prefect]

Considering the fact that McDavid drew Ohtani comparisons last year, and not Aaron Judge, so i’d say McDavid has to be the more dominant.

Ohtani comparisons? Did he play goalie as well?

 

[JoelWarlord]

They're just not really in the same tier. Judge is an outstanding player but his hockey comparable is probably more like the Sakic/Yzerman/Bourque kind of tier. Forsberg is probably the best 1:1 comparison for a hockey career with both guys having their career production limited by injuries.