Shohei Ohtani has demonstrated little difficulty in adapting from the American League to the National League in 2024, as the Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star is a runaway NL MVP odds favorite while leading the senior circuit in home runs.
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge might be an AL MVP odds favorite with or without Ohtani still playing for the Angels, as the New York Yankees slugger is pacing all of baseball in both homers and RBI.
With the unofficial second half of the MLB season at hand, FanDuel has posted MLB odds on both superstars to win the Triple Crown in their respective leagues. Let's take a look at where they stand with the Midsummer Classic in the rearview mirror.
Shohei Ohtani odds to win NL Triple Crown
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 7-17-2024.
Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani currently enjoys the NL lead in dingers by three over the Atlanta Braves' Marcell Ozuna (29 to 26), but he's looking up at him in the RBI race as well as Alec Bohm. Ohtani's 69 RBI trail Ozuna at 77 and the Philadelphia Phillies third baseman at 70.
Ohtani is also 10 points off the lead in batting average at .316, while Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers sits at .326.
The Japanese superstar entered the All-Star break batting .319 in July, but the taters and RBI have dried up a bit. After jumping the yard 12 times and driving in 24 runs in June, Ohtani is on pace for only six homers and 14 RBI this month.
Aaron Judge odds to win AL Triple Crown
Odds courtesy of FanDuel as of 7-17-2024.
Despite leading in two of the three Triple Crown categories at the All-Star break, New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge might have the tougher task compared to Ohtani.
Judge is batting .306, just five ticks off his lifetime-best mark posted in his 2022 MVP season, but is a long way behind Steven Kwan of the Cleveland Guardians at .352. Even if Kwan (who missed some time due to injury earlier in the season) winds up with not enough at-bats to qualify at the end of the year, Judge still has to catch and pass both Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (.323) and Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (.308).
Furthermore, Judge's lead in RBI isn't insurmountable. The Guardians' Jose Ramirez is eight behind Judge in RBI (85 to 77) and has Kwan constantly getting on base in front of him. Even a power surge from Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles, who trails Judge in bombs 34-28, isn't unfathomable.
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The Triple Crown club
The last player to win the Triple Crown in either league was Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera in 2012. He led the AL with 44 home runs, 139 RBIs, and a .330 batting average. Beyond him, you have to go back 45 years to 1967 when Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox accomplished the feat with 44 home runs, 121 RBIs, and a .321 average.
Below is a list of players to accomplish the feat in either the AL or the NL since 1920, when RBIs officially started being tracked:
| Player Name | Year | League |
|---|---|---|
 Miguel Cabrera |
2012 | AL |
 Carl Yastrzemski |
1967 | AL |
 Frank Robinson |
1966 | AL |
 Mickey Mantle |
1956 | AL |
| Ted Williams |
1947*, 1942 | AL |
 Joe Medwick |
1937 | NL |
| Lou Gehrig |
1934* | AL |
 Jimmie Foxx** |
1933 | AL |
 Chuck Klein |
1933 | NL |
| Rogers Hornsby |
1925*, 1922 | NL |
* Won MLB Triple Crown.
** Played for the Philadelphia Athletics
Close, but no cigar
Only 10 players over the last 103 seasons have led their respective league in batting average, home runs, and RBI at the end of the year.
Some recent close calls include:
- Aaron Judge, 2022: Led the AL in home runs (62) and RBIs (131) but fell short by five points (.316) to Luis Arraez (.321).
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2021: Tied for the AL lead in home runs (48), second in batting average (.311), and fifth in RBI (10 behind leader Salvador Perez).
- Christian Yelich, 2018: First in batting average, but missed by two home runs to Nolan Arenado and one RBI to Javier Baez.
