Shohei Ohtani Crowned NL MVP
Shohei Ohtani was awarded the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, obtaining all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). This recognition comes after an exceptional offensive season and a successful return to the mound, culminating in one more championship. Kyle Schwarber, designated hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies, received 23 votes for second place. Juan Soto of the New York Mets and Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks, accumulated the rest of the votes. Ohtani has four MVP awards in the last five years, all unanimously. Only Barry Bonds surpasses this mark with seven.Ohtani, 31, joins Frank Robinson as the only players to win the MVP in both leagues, and is the only player in the four major professional sports in the United States with more than one unanimous MVP. In addition, he is the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in his first two seasons with a team, according to research data. In December 2023, Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 10-year, $700 million contract, with deferred payments. He led the team as a starting hitter, contributing to the 2024 World Series title, and became the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP. In 2025, Ohtani continued his offensive impact, batting .282/.392/.622 with 55 home runs, setting a franchise record for the second consecutive year and leading the National League with an adjusted OPS of 179. This was in addition to his return to pitching, after a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament, with 14 starts in the regular season for the Dodgers, recording an ERA of 2.87 with 62 strikeouts in 47 innings, including 16⅔ consecutive scoreless innings to end the regular season. In October, he solidified his legacy as the best player in the game. In Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, he pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10, and hit three home runs. In Game 3 of the World Series, which went to 18 innings, he reached base in all nine plate appearances, four of them by intentional walk. In total, he hit eight home runs in the playoffs, tying Corey Seager in 2020 for the franchise record in a single postseason. Since the beginning of 2021, when he began to stand out as a two-way player with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani has led the league with 44.4 wins above replacement (WAR) according to FanGraphs. Aaron Judge, outfielder for the New York Yankees, came in second with 42.8. Ohtani, who has only been with the Dodgers for two seasons, is already the first in franchise history to obtain multiple MVP awards playing for the team. After six years without participating in the postseason with the Angels, Ohtani expressed his pride in the consecutive championships he has achieved.It’s something special. What makes it even more special is that it was unanimous, and I want to thank all the writers who voted for me.
Shohei Ohtani
Obviously, I never strive to start a season with the goal of getting the MVP. It’s all about your teammates, and obviously you want to play good baseball. At the end of the day, we want to play for a World Series. I think the MVP just comes with what you do during the season. Obviously, if I play well, as an individual, that means I’m helping the team win. So in that sense, I hope I can end up with a couple more MVPs. But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning games.
Shohei Ohtani
