Acuña, Ohtani garner awards

LAS VEGAS — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani — now with the Los Angeles Dodgers — won the 2023 Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, presented by Major League Baseball to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league. The MLB award is picked by fan balloting combined with votes from a panel of National Baseball Hall of Fame members and former winners, a group that this year included Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, John Smoltz and Robin Yount. The pair also won league MVP awards last month in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ohtani, who brought home the American League honor from the BBWAA, was the first two-time unanimous MVP. Ohtani became a free agent after the season and left the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. He led the AL with 44 home runs and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season at the plate that ended Sept. 3 because of an oblique injury. The right-handed pitcher was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 batters and walking 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Aug. 23. He had elbow surgery and won’t pitch next season. Acuña was a unanimous winner of his first National League MVP after becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season. Acuña was second in the NL with a .336 batting average for the 104-win Braves and led the majors with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 stolen bases while hitting 41 home runs with 106 RBIs. Every team nominated candidates for the Aaron awards, and a group of MLB.com writers picked nine finalists in each league. The awards were introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career record for homers.

BASKETBALL

› SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — One of two West Virginia men’s basketball players affected by the legal battle over the NCAA’s transfer rules played Saturday after this past week’s court order blocking the organizations restrictions against two-time transfers. Noah Farrakhan scored 15 points in 18 minutes and fouled out near the end of the Mountaineers’ 87-79 loss to Massachusetts in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The other West Virginia player affected, RaQuan Battle, did not take the court. Coach Josh Eilert said Battle has been fighting an illness since testifying in the lawsuit against the NCAA on Wednesday. Eilert said he expects Battle will play next week. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in West Virginia issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA allowing players such as Battle and Farrakhan to play. The ruling, part of a lawsuit by a coalition of seven states, said athletes who previously were denied the chance to play immediately after transferring a second time can compete in games for the time being. The lawsuit, which alleges the NCAA transfer rule’s waiver process violates federal antitrust law, could have a profound impact on college sports if successful. In court documents, the NCAA has said the plaintiffs “seek to remake collegiate athletics and replace it with a system of perpetual and unchecked free agency.” Also, Cincinnati’s Jamille Reynolds, who previously played at UCF and Temple and had his waiver to play immediately for the Bearcats denied, came off the bench in a game against rival Dayton, and guard Phillip Russell opted to play for the University of Texas at Arlington against Air Force.

VOLLEYBALL

› TAMPA, Fla. — Madisen Skinner had 16 kills and Ella Swindle became the fourth true freshman setter to lead her team to a national championship as Texas repeated as the NCAA Division I champion in women’s volleyball by dominating No. 1 overall seed Nebraska 3-0 on Sunday. With Skinner, named the most outstanding player with 34 kills in the final four, the Longhorns (28-4) ran their tournament winning streak to 12 by becoming the first team to win consecutive championship matches 3-0. Texas won its fourth NCAA crown by sweeping the Cornhuskers (33-2), who had lost just one set in the tournament, 25-22, 25-14, 25-11. Texas returned 11 players off last year’s championship team, although most outstanding player Logan Eggleston graduated. The experience showed against a Nebraska team that was trying to join the 1985 Pacific team as the only champions without a senior.