Ohtani picks up his second AP Athlete of the Year award
Before Shohei Ohtani stepped into the bright lights of Hollywood and signed the most lucrative contract in professional sports history, baseball's two-way superstar put together yet another season of unparalleled brilliance from Tokyo to Anaheim.
What can this singular talent possibly do next? The Los Angeles Dodgers are eagerly paying $700 million to see for themselves.
But what Ohtani already did in 2023 — both for the Los Angeles Angels and for Japan's team in the World Baseball Classic — is the reason he was selected as The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.
“Shohei is arguably the most talented player who's ever played this game,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers' president of baseball operations, after signing Ohtani to a 10-year contract last week.
Ohtani edged Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi and tennis great Novak Djokovic for the AP honor in voting by a panel of sports media professionals.
Ohtani received 20 of 87 votes, while Messi and Djokovic got 16 apiece. NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic had 12 votes.
This year began with Ohtani's dazzling MVP performance for Japan's championship team in the World Baseball Classic. Ohtani then led the AL with 44 homers, 78 extrabase hits, 325 total bases and a 1.066 OPS as the Halos' designated hitter. MLB MAKES BIG RULES CHANGES >> Major League Baseball is widening the runner's lane approaching first base to include a portion
of fair territory, changing a more than centuryold rule that caused World Series controversy over interference calls.
MLB also is shortening the pitch clock with runners on base by two seconds to 18 and further reducing mound visits -from five to four -- in an effort to speed games.
Another change adopted by the sport's 11man competition committee requires a pitcher who warms up on the mound before a half inning to face at least one batter.
The new runner's lane overrides a rule that has existed since the National League mandated in 1882 that runners must be within the 3-foot box on the foul side of the base line during the final 45 feet between home and first. Violators were subject to being called out for interfering with fielders taking a throw. The rule was designed to prevent collisions; foul lines intersected the middle of bases until the bags were moved into fair territory in 1887.
The change widens the lane to include 18-to-24 inches of fair territory to the edge of the grass.
Men's basketball AMEY LEADS SAN JOSE STATE PAST SANTA CLARA >>
Myron Amey Jr. scored 17 points and sealed the victory with a free throw with 29 seconds remaining as San Jose State took down Santa Clara 81-78 on Wednesday night.
Amey's free throws gave San Jose State a 77-76 lead. Adama Bal's layup pulled Santa Clara to 79-78 with five seconds left. Alvaro Cardenas added a pair of free throws for the Spartans with three seconds to go, and Bal missed a 3 to end it.
Amey added nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals for the Spartans (7-6). Carlos Marshall Jr. led the Broncos (8-5) with 29 points.
College football FLORIDA STATE WILL DISCUSS LEAVING ACC >>
Florida State will hold a Board of Trustees meeting today and a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the future of the athletic department and its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference will be discussed.
The board is expected to consider a possible exit strategy that could involve legal action against the ACC and contracts that bind the conference's members for 12 more years, according to the person, who spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet published an agenda for the meeting.
Florida State leaders have made it known they are unhappy with the school's current situation in the ACC, where revenue distribution lags way behind the payouts to schools in the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences. That gap is likely to grow substantially in the near future as new media rights deals kick in for the SEC and Big Ten while the ACC is locked into a deal with ESPN that still has more than a decade left.
Earlier this month, Florida State won the ACC football title game but became the first Power Five conference champion to finish with an undefeated record and still be left out of the College Football Playoff.
Winter sports VLHOVA RALLIES TO BEAT SHIFFRIN IN WORLD CUP RACE >>
Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova used a frenetic final run to edge out Mikaela Shiffrin and earn her 30th career win in tough conditions at a women's World Cup slalom.
Racing in the rain, Vlhova trailed the American by 0.17 seconds after the opening run but posted the fastest second-run time to lead the race.
Shiffrin lost time on Vlhova at each split and ultimately came up 0.24 short. It was Vlhova's 21st career win in a slalom, fourth on the all-time winners list, topped by Shiffrin (55).