Two-way season swung vote
Hitting and pitching display not seen since Babe Ruth
Shohei Ohtani’s two-way season was so incredible, MVP voters filled out the top of their ballots only one way.
Ohtani was a unanimous winner of the American League MVP award Thursday for a hitting and pitching display not seen since Babe Ruth, and Bryce Harper earned the National League honour for the second time.
Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
“American fans, the U.S.A. baseball, is more accepting and welcoming to the whole two-way idea compared to when I first started in Japan, so it made the transition a lot easier for me,” Ohtani said through translator Ippei Mizuhara. “I’m very thankful for that.”
Ohtani batted .257 with 46 homers, 100 RBIs and a .965 OPS as the Los Angeles Angels’ full-time designated hitter, and went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 23 pitching starts with 156 strikeouts and 44 walks in 130 1 ⁄ innings. It was the first full 3 season on the mound for the 27year-old right-hander since Tommy John surgery in 2019.
He averaged 95.6 m.p.h. with his fastball, 28th in the major leagues among qualified pitchers, and had a 93.6=m.p.h. exit velocity at the plate, which ranked sixth among qualified batters, according to MLB Statcast.
“MVP is something I was shooting for,” Ohtani said. “I think every player is, as long as they’re playing baseball professionally.”
Ohtani won AL rookie of the year in 2018 after leaving the Pacific League’s Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters to sign with the Angels. This year he became the first twoway starter in the history of the all-Star game, which began in 1933.
He called that the highlight of his season. “It was my first one and I got to play with a lot of players that I’ve always watched on TV. That was a great experience.”
Ruth had just two seasons in which he thrived at the plate while pitching regularly. He batted .300 with 11 homers and 61 RBIs in 1918 while going 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA for Boston, then hit .322 with 29 homers and 113 RBIs in 1919 while going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA. Ruth was sold to the Yankees that December and made just five mound appearances in his final 16 seasons.
Ohtani became the second Japanese MVP winner after Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of doubters, especially from my days in Japan, but tried not to let that get to me, let the pressure get to me,” Ohtani said. “I just wanted to have fun and see what kinds of numbers I could put up and what type of performance I could put up.”
Harper received 17 of 30 firstplace votes and 348 points from a separate panel. Washington outfielder Juan Soto was second with six firsts and 274 points, and San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was third with two firsts and 244 points.
Harper overcame getting hit on the cheek with a 96.9-m.p.h. pitch from Génesis Cabrera of the St. Louis Cardinals on April 28. Tears came to his eyes when he learned he had won, and he talked about what he had overcome.
“I was, ‘Oh, I’m great. I’m fine.’ I’m pressing my face, ‘I’m good and I’m OK to get back,’ not knowing that maybe it was a little bit too soon for myself,” Harper said.