Shohei Ohtani wins 2021 American League MVP award

Los Angeles Angels’ Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani named 2021 American League MVP Award, as announced Thursday on MLB Network. He had one of the most incredible seasons in baseball history.

Ohtani received all 30 of the first-place votes from the BBWAA, with Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. finishing second and Marcus Semien finishing third. Ohtani became the fourth Angels player to win the award, joining Don Baylor (1979), Vladimir Guerrero (2004) and Mike Trout (2014, ’16 and ’19). And he’s the second Japanese-born player to earn the honor, joining Ichiro Suzuki, who won AL MVP as a rookie in 2001.

“I’m extremely happy,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara on MLB Network. “I want to say thank you to all of the BBWAA writers who voted for me. I also want to thank my teammates, my coaches, my manager and everybody that was involved, like the training staff. And all the fans who supported me through thick and thin. And also the doctor who performed surgery on me.”

Ohtani, 27, wowed throughout the season, reaching previously unthinkable milestones as both a hitter and a pitcher, as he did things nobody had done since Babe Ruth roughly 100 years ago.

At the plate, Ohtani hit .257/.372/.592 with 46 homers, 26 doubles, eight triples, 100 RBIs, 103 runs and 26 stolen bases in 155 games. And on the mound, he made 23 starts and went 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings.

He led the Majors with 9.1 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference, which outpaced his peers by a large margin. The second-highest total was Zack Wheeler’s 7.7 WAR with the Phillies, while Semien was credited with 7.3 WAR and Guerrero with 6.8.

Ohtani reached several unprecedented milestones, including becoming the first player in AL or NL history with at least 45 homers, 25 stolen bases and five triples in a season. And no player had ever hit more than 30 homers while making at least 15 starts on the mound.

“The MVP is something I was shooting for,” Ohtani said. “I think any player is as long as they’re playing professionally. But I’m more appreciative of the fact that American fans and USA baseball was accepting and welcoming to the whole two-way idea compared to when I first started in Japan. It made the transition easier for me, so I’m thankful for that.”

The AL MVP Award was the latest 2021 honor for Ohtani, who also won his first Silver Slugger Award as designated hitter and was named the MLBPA Player of the Year as voted on by his peers. He was also named the Player of the Year by Baseball America, Baseball Digest and Sporting News. He also made history in July by becoming the first player ever elected to the All-Star Game as both a starting pitcher and a position player.