Two-way star wins all 30 first-place votes as he chases after majors’ first $500m contract
NEW YORK CITY (AP)– Shohei Ohtani’s injury stays mystical. His supremacy is clear.
After captivating baseball with his extraordinary mix of high-level striking and premium pitching, the two-way star ended up being the first two-time unanimous Many Valuable Player when he won the American League honor on Thursday.
While Ohtani appeared on the televised Big league Baseball Network statement, with a dog in his lap, the prized free agent did not speak on the media call that had actually been arranged to follow.
Major League Baseball stated Ohtani was not offered due to situations beyond his control. He has not talked with press reporters because Aug. 9, 2 weeks before a pitching injury that required surgical treatment and will keep him off a mound until 2025.
Before Ohtani got injured while playing for the Los Angeles Angels and had best elbow surgical treatment on Sept. 19, there was broad speculation he could gain the first $500 million agreement in baseball history. Ohtani had Tommy John surgical treatment in October 2018 and his agent, Nez Balelo, did not define total details after the latest operation.
Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in ballot by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He was an unanimous MVP in 2021 and completed second to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge in voting in 2015.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. won the National League honor, and this year marked the very first time given that the awards began in 1931 that the winner in each league was consentaneous. There have been 21 consentaneous MVPs.
Corey Seager was 2nd with 24 second-place votes and 264 points, and Texas colleague Marcus Semien was third with five second-place votes and 216 points. Balloting took place before the postseason, when the Rangers won their very first World Series title.
Ohtani led the AL with 44 homers and struck.304 with 96 RBIs, 8 triples and 20 taken bases in a season at the plate that ended Sept. 3 because of an oblique injury.
He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 and strolling 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar security ligament in his ideal elbow on Aug. 23.
Not even Babe Ruth starred at such lofty levels on the mound and at the plate in the very same season. Ruth batted.300 with 11 homers and 61 RBIs in 1918 while going 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA for Boston, then hit.322 with 29 homers and 113 RBIs in 1919 while going 9-5 with a 2.97 PERIOD. He made just five mound looks in his last 16 seasons.
Ohtani balanced 96.8 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball, 26th among certified pitchers, and a 94.4 mph exit velocity off his bat, 3rd among competent batters behind Judge and Acuna. Ohtani led the majors with a 10.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Referral.
A left-handed batter and right-handed pitcher, Ohtani is a three-time All-Star. He has a. 274 average, 171 homers, 437 RBIs and 86 steals in six big league seasons and is 38-19 with a 3.01 age in 86 starts with 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings.
Ohtani won AL Rookie of the Year in 2018 after leaving the Pacific League’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to sign with the Angels. He was voted the Pacific League’s MVP in 2016.
Seager earned a $200,000 bonus for finishing second, and Semien got $150,000 for finishing third.
Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez was fourth with 197 points. Houston’s Kyle Tucker got one second-place vote and was 5th with 178 points.
