Shohei Ohtani Crowned NL MVP
Shohei Ohtani was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the National League on Thursday, obtaining all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA). This recognition comes after another impressive offensive season that included a successful return to the mound and, once again, culminated in a championship. Philadelphia Phillies’ designated hitter Kyle Schwarber received 23 second-place votes. New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto and Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo accumulated the rest of the votes. Ohtani has won four MVP awards in the last five years, all unanimously. Only Barry Bonds surpasses this mark, with seven.Ohtani, 31, had already joined Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP in both leagues and the only player among the four major American professional sports with more than one unanimous MVP. Now he is the first player in MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL history to win both an MVP and a championship in each of his first two seasons with a team, according to ESPN Research. Ohtani joined the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 10-year, $700 million contract in December 2023. In 2024, he led the team as a leadoff hitter on their way to the World Series title, becoming the first full-time designated hitter to win an MVP. In 2025, Ohtani was equally impactful on offense, batting .282/.392/.622, accumulating 55 home runs, setting a franchise record for the second consecutive year and leading the National League with an adjusted OPS of 179. In addition, he combined his batting prowess with his return to pitching. Ohtani returned from a second repair of his ulnar collateral ligament to make 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 at the end of the regular season. In October, he further solidified his legacy as the best player in the game. Leading the Dodgers to their second consecutive pennant in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings, striking out 10, and added three home runs. In Game 3 of the World Series, which went to 18 innings, he reached base in all nine plate appearances, four by intentional walk. In total, he hit eight home runs in the playoffs, tying Corey Seager in 2020 with the franchise record in a single postseason. Since the beginning of 2021, when he began his career as a two-way player with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani has accumulated 44.4 wins above replacement (WAR), leading the league. The second on that list is Aaron Judge, outfielder for the New York Yankees, with 42.8. Ohtani has been with the Dodgers for only two seasons and is already the first in franchise history to capture multiple MVP awards while playing for the team. After six years in which he missed relevant postseason baseball while with the Angels, Ohtani said he was most proud of the consecutive championships that have been related to that. “Obviously, I never strive to start a season with the goal of getting the MVP,” Ohtani said. “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.”“It’s definitely special. It makes it even more special because it was unanimous, and I would like to thank all the writers for voting for me,” Ohtani stated through an interpreter.
Shohei Ohtani
