Ohtani, Harper earn league MVP awards

Shohei Ohtani was unanimiously voted American League MVP on Thursday for a two-way season not seen since Babe Ruth, and Bryce Harper earned the National League honor for the second time.

Ohtani hit .257 with 46 homers, 100 RBIs and a .965 OPS as the Angels’ full-time designated hitter, and he went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts with 156 strikeouts and 44 walks in 130 ⅓ innings. It was the first full season on the mound for the 27-year-old right-hander following Tommy John surgery in 2019.

Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finished second and Blue Jays infielder Marcus Semien was third in the voting.

Harper overcame getting hit in the face with a 97 mph pitch from Génesis Cabrera of the Cardinals on April 28 to bat .309 with 35 homers for the

Phillies. The 29-year-old led the major leagues with a .465 slugging percentage and 1.044 OPS, tied for the lead with 42 doubles and had 84 RBIs. Harper received 17 of 30 first-place votes. Nationals outfield Juan Soto was second in the voting and Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was third.

Golf: Sebastian Munoz shot a 10-under 60 at RSM Classic to shatter his career round by six shots. Scoring was so low Thursday at Sea Island that all that got Munoz was a one-shot lead over Zach Johnson, while three players were one shot behind to par. Soccer: NBC will pay more than $2.7 billion to continue showing the Premier League for another six years, almost trebling the value of American rights to the world’s richest soccer competition, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Thursday. The agreement was announced Thursday by NBC for the U.S. English- and Spanish-language broadcast rights.