Shohei Ohtani (30, both pitcher and hitter), who contributed to the team’s World Series victory by becoming the first player in MLB (American Major League Baseball) to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases as a member of the LA Dodgers, won the unanimous Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for the third time in his career.
The MLB office announced on the 22nd (Korean time) that Ohtani was unanimously selected as the National League (NL) MVP by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).
With this National League MVP award, Ohtani has won his third Major League MVP award in his career and the second player in history to win the MVP award in both major leagues (AL, American League/NL, National League).
Additionally, Ohtani is the first designated hitter to win the MVP award in the major leagues.
With this, Ohtani became the 12th player to win three major league MVP awards, joining Albert Pujols and Mike Trout.
What is most noteworthy is that the MVP vote was unanimous. The fact that he won the unanimous MVP award while only playing as a designated hitter shows just how impactful Ohtani’s performance was this season.
Ohtani’s regular season performance this time was flawless with a batting average of 0.310, 54 home runs, 59 stolen bases, 130 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.036, leading the team to the National League championship.
Above all, it seems that his achievement of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, the first in Major League history, left a deep impression on baseball fans around the world and played a major role in his unanimous MVP award.
Ohtani already has two unanimous MVP awards under his belt, having played both positions for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023.
At the time, Ohtani was evaluated as ‘breaking the common sense of baseball’ and later transferred to the LA Dodgers through an astronomical contract, and immediately added a World Series championship to his career.
“I was limited to hitting due to an elbow injury, so I’m very happy to be able to win the MVP award,” Ohtani said after winning the MVP award.
