Luke Voit slights Aaron Judge, Yankees by picking ‘best player’ he’s ever played with

Luke Voit was a breath of fresh air during his time with the New York Yankees (except defensively), and was universally beloved from the day he began mashing to the day he came down with foot stuff. Things ended bizarrely between the two parties, though, resulting in some strange benchings during team-wide 2021 slumps, and a lack of acknowledgment during the start of the Anthony Rizzo Era.

Voit didn’t really play last summer unless he had to, adding an air of discomfort to his final weeks with the team, as well as his eventual (and inevitable) departure. Whether Voit felt the friction or not (he probably did!) is up for debate, but he’s flipped the switch since heading to San Diego in March and has now become the new Mr. Padre.

Based on his latest quote, it seems his baseball takes have now taken on a distinct Cali flavor.

In the wake of the Padres’ celebration of Manny Machado for crossing the 1,500 hit threshold before the age of 30 — a pretty good sign in a near-impossible 3,000 hit chase — Voit dropped his thoughts into the discussion.

The beefy first baseman called Machado the “best player [he’s] ever played with,” after giving a cursory nod to his “great guys” in St. Louis and New York.

He even singled out Judge, calling he and Machado “two of the best” … but Judge didn’t come in first in Voit’s eyes.

Luke Voit thinks Manny Machado is better than Aaron Judge, Yankees teammates

Oh, really, Luke? Well I, uh … I think Justin Lange, the below-Single-A prospect we got in exchange for you, is the best prospect I’ve ever seen! What do you think about that?

Although, if he’d stayed in New York … you really think he’s picking against Judge? It’s called pandering!

In fairness to Voit (ducks tomatoes), Machado is younger by a few months (he still hasn’t turned 30 yet!), and has an absurd Hall of Fame resumé. Judge was a bit of a late bloomer, so while he may be more talented with a more unique profile, he doesn’t quite have Machado’s accolades. Plus, when picking between two transcendent talents, you’re always going to give the hat tip to the one you’re currently sharing a locker room with.

Machado’s the 17th man to ever reach the 250 homer/1,500 hit milestones before the age of 30, and while Judge is nowhere close in the hits department, it may stun you to realize the man we watched break into the league in 2017 already has 183 career dingers — and his pace is increasing.

Machado may have compiled the more impressive totals, but at this very moment, not even the Padres superstar is hotter than Judge and his 1.062 OPS. Coincidentally, “62” is also the number he needs to hit this year to pass a pretty special mark/show the Pads who’s boss.

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