NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani‘s injury remains mysterious. His dominance is clear.
After captivating baseball with his unprecedented combination of high-level hitting and premium pitching, the two-way star became the first two-time unanimous Most Valuable Player when he won the American League honor on Thursday.
While Ohtani appeared on the televised Major League Baseball Network announcement, with a dog in his lap, the prized free agent did not speak on the media call that had been scheduled to follow.
Major League Baseball said Ohtani was not available due to circumstances beyond his control. He has not spoken with reporters since Aug. 9, two weeks before a pitching injury that required surgery and will keep him off a mound until 2025.
Before Ohtani got hurt while playing for the Los Angeles Angels and had right elbow surgery on Sept. 19, there was wide speculation he could gain the first $500 million contract in baseball history. Ohtani had Tommy John surgery in October 2018 and his agent, Nez Balelo, did not specify complete details after the latest operation.
Ohtani received all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He was a unanimous MVP in 2021 and completed second to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge in voting final 12 months.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. gained the National League honor, and this 12 months marked the primary time because the awards started in 1931 that the winner in every league was unanimous. There have been 21 unanimous MVPs.
Corey Seager was second with 24 second—place votes and 264 factors, and Texas teammate Marcus Semien was third with 5 second-place votes and 216 factors. Balloting happened earlier than the postseason, when the Rangers gained their first World Series title.
Ohtani led the AL with 44 homers and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season on the plate that ended Sept. 3 due to an indirect damage.
He was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 begins on the mound, putting out 167 and strolling 55 in 132 innings earlier than tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his proper elbow on Aug. 23.
Not even Babe Ruth starred at such lofty ranges on the mound and on the plate in the identical season. Ruth batted .300 with 11 homers and 61 RBIs in 1918 whereas going 13-7 with a 2.22 ERA for Boston, then hit .322 with 29 homers and 113 RBIs in 1919 whereas going 9-5 with a 2.97 ERA. He made simply 5 mound appearances in his closing 16 seasons.
Ohtani averaged 96.8 mph together with his four-seam fastball, twenty sixth amongst certified pitchers, and a 94.4 mph exit velocity off his bat, third amongst certified batters behind Judge and Acuña. Ohtani led the majors with a ten.0 Wins Above Replacement, in line with Baseball Reference.
A left-handed batter and right-handed pitcher, Ohtani is a three-time All-Star. He has a .274 common, 171 homers, 437 RBIs and 86 steals in six main league seasons and is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA in 86 begins with 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings.
Ohtani gained AL Rookie of the Year in 2018 after leaving the Pacific League’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to signal with the Angels. He was voted the Pacific League’s MVP in 2016.
Seager earned a $200,000 bonus for ending second, and Semien received $150,000 for ending third.
Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez was fourth with 197 factors. Houston’s Kyle Tucker received one second-place vote and was fifth with 178 factors.
