Dodgers fans will love Team Mexico manager's response to Shohei Ohtani-Aaron Judge question

Benji Gil is an eight-year veteran of Major League Baseball, having spent the last four years of his career in Los Angeles with the Angels. He knows a thing or two about baseball because he's seen a thing or two.

So, when he was asked at the World Baseball Classic if he considered Aaron Judge to be the best hitter in the world, he offered a cordial response, suggesting that the New York Yankees slugger has been the most consistent hitter in the world over the last five years.

Then, he dropped one of the hardest quotes of all time: "But there's also a hitter in Los Angeles who's extraordinary, isn't there?"

Frame that quote and hang it in the Louvre, man.

For posterity, Gil ended his response by saying that "Without a doubt, the best baseball player in the world is Shohei [Ohtani]." That's a pretty succinct way of putting it.

Shohei Ohtani-Aaron Judge debate will continue to dominate baseball discourse in 2026

As long as both Ohtani and Judge continue racking up MVP awards, this conversation isn't going to die down. They're the faces of their respective countries in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and their 2024 World Series clash was a historic opportunity for the two best players in the world to face off on the sport's biggest stage.

Of course, that Fall Classic didn't quite live up to the hype, as both players offered up muted performances at the plate. However, whereas Ohtani has otherwise made a name for himself as a clutch player in big moments, Judge has earned a reputation of coming up short in the playoffs.

Even when you ignore October, though, it's hard not to argue in Ohtani's favor. Judge may have set the American League home run record in 2022 when he wrestled the MVP award away from the then-Angels superstar, but Ohtani's two-way dominance is simply unbeatable. The 31-year-old has a career .957 OPS and 3.00 ERA.

And he quashed any narrative of being unable to truly dominate on either side of the ball in 2024, posting the first and only 50-50 season in MLB history as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Another bit of history he's accomplished? He's won all four of his MVPs unanimously.

Gil was fair to laud Judge as the most consistent hitter in the sport, consider the right fielder hasn't posted a wRC+ below 150 since 2020. That alone is its own form of historical dominance.

But if you ever catch yourself watching Judge in awe and wondering how anyone could be better, just remember that there's a hitter in Los Angeles who's also extraordinary.