Here's why Ohtani should take home a 2nd MVP
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This story was excerpted from Rhett Bollinger's Angels Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
It’s awards week for MLB, with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America set to announce its four major award winners, and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani will learn the balloting results for AL MVP honors on Thursday at 3 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
Ohtani -- who was named a finalist for the award along with Rangers teammates Corey Seager and Marcus Semien -- is the favorite to take home the trophy for the second time in three seasons.
Here’s the case for Ohtani to become the second Angels player to win multiple MVP Awards, joining Mike Trout (2014, ’16, ’19):
Simply put, there’s nobody else quite like Ohtani.
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So, it takes an extraordinary year from another player to defy the odds and overtake him for AL MVP honors, much like Yankees slugger Aaron Judge did in 2022, when he smashed 62 homers to set the AL record. But Ohtani won the award unanimously in 2021, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he did so again in ’23.
Ohtani had another season for the ages despite ending the year on the IL with a pair of injuries: a torn UCL in his right elbow in August and a strained right oblique in September. But he essentially ran away with the award with an incredible June and was again named an All-Star as both a starting pitcher and a designated hitter for the third straight season.
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Ohtani, who is now a free agent, slashed .304/.412/.654 with 44 homers, 26 doubles, eight triples, 20 stolen bases and 95 RBIs in 135 games. He led the AL in homers, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (1.066) and total bases (325). And he was again an ace in 23 starts on the mound, going 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings. He had the lowest batting average against (.184) among all AL pitchers with at least 130 innings.
Seager and Semien both had strong seasons and were rewarded with October glory and a World Series title, but neither had a regular season special enough to overcome what Ohtani did at the plate and on the mound. Ohtani should win the award easily for a second time.