No, I'm not letting this go.

 

Ah, Old-Times' Day! What a wonderful tradition—and one started by your New York Yankees, I believe, with the immortal tribute to Lou Gehrig on July 4th, 1939. 

On hand were two of the greatest teams of all time, Gehrig's old 1927 teammates, and the 1939 squad. One of the most poignant moments in all sports history, thanks to The Iron Horse's "Luckiest Man" speech, soon to be captured on film with Gary Cooper.

Often imitated, never surpassed—the Mets would bring in old Giants and Dodgers, nice try, Mets!—the Yanks' Old Timers' Day reached such a peak of nostalgia during the Dry Years of 1965-75 that The New York Times would sometimes run an actual box score of the jokey little game the old timers would play.

In those years the True Immortals would always be on hand—Yogi and Whitey, and then Mickey, and of course, above all, Joe, Joe DiMaggio. Have you ever seen a god walking? Well, I have. 

Of course, the Immortals beyond human ken—Lou, and The Babe—had already passed on to Valhalla, but their widows and daughter were there, looking like the Trojan Women (or maybe mob widows) in their all-black dresses and veils, as if they were still keening the dead, so many decades later. 

Now, for some reason, nearly all other teams have ended the tradition, which would seem inexplicable save for the fact that MLB today is all about pretending the game—much like Charlie perfume—is kinda hip, kinda now, kinda WOW!

Case in point, of course, being Shohei Ohtani, who we are now assured at every turn is the greatest player you, me, or the American people have ever seen.

And hey, Ohtani—now 9-6 as a pitcher and hitting .251 as a hitter—is indeed a fine ballplayer and a really fun phenomenon. 

But the accompanying drive to make him the Greatest Of All Time—and this year's MVP?

Not so fun.

Case in point being all the drooling over Ohtani's back-to-back games against KC, on June 21st-22nd of this year, in which Shohei first, drove in 8 runs, and then, struck out 13 in 8 innings of two-hit, no-run pitching.

Pretty damned phenomenal!

But let's look at the last two games for Aaron Judge now, against those same Kansas City Royals:

Game-winning, bottom of the ninth home run on Thursday. 

Robbing the very first hitter of the next day's game—and some of the imbecilic spawn of our fellow Yankees fans. 

(Note: Ohtani, supposedly a part-time outfielder still has yet to record a single chance at any position, save pitcher.)

Followed by a two-run homer, and a game-clinching grand slam.

In short, on their two days of work, a little over a month apart, we have:

Ohtani: 4-7, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 Runs, 2 Ks, 0 BB.

Pitching: 8 innings, 2 hits, 1 BB, 0 Runs, 13 Ks.

Results: 1 extra-inning loss, 1 win.

Aaron Judge:

4-8, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 3 Runs, 3 Ks, 1 BB, 1 SB.

Fielding: 1 HR-saving catch. 

Results: 2 wins.

All of which is to say...it's Kansas City. Not exactly the test of tests. But to act as though Judge does not come close to this guy as MVP...

One of the best things about baseball is its traditions. It leads to an endless debate over who really was the best, or how players of the past would fare today, or vice versa. 

As such, that debate gives meaning and credit to our memories, to what we were all lucky enough to see at the ballpark, and are eager to pass on to the next generation. To wipe away the past, just for the sake of a passing hype—even in the cause of such a talented, deserving player as Ohtani—does none of us any favors, including Ohtani himself, who will surely find his own way into the pantheon without all the public relations chatter.

Oh, here's another shot of Judge stealing a home run. Who hit the ball? Why, Shohei Ohtani, of course!