6:53 PM
The Baseball Writers' Association of America named Shohei Ohtani the American League's Most Valuable Player on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Angels star was a unanimous selection, receiving all 30 first-place votes.
Ohtani fulfilled his promise as a two-way star and exceeded the expectations that he had with him from Japan. He became the first player in baseball history to hit at least 30 home runs in a year when he also made at least 10 pitching appearances -- and that doesn't come close to capturing his wide-ranging excellence.
Ohtani played for the Angels and made 23 starts. He had a.962 OPS, added eight triples, and stole 26 bases, which was tops in the American League. He became the sixth player in history to have at least 45 homers and 25 stolen bases in the same season, joining a list that includes Alfonso Soriano, Jose Canseco, Larry Walker and Barry Bonds.
None of them actually pitched.
Ohtani compiled 130 1/3 hours on the mound and had a 3.18 earned run with 156 strikeouts and 44 walks. Ohtani ranked within the top 4% in strikeout percentage, the top 22% in opponents' batting average and the top 16% in expected fielding independent pitching. Ohtani was worth 9.1 Baseball-Reference wins above replacement, far more than anyone else in the sport.
After giving up a promising career in Japan early to become a two-way player at his sport's highest level, Ohtani showed flashes of his potential early in his first season in the United States. He had a 3.18 earned run average on the mound and a. 928 OPS in the batter's box through the first two months of the year. He made one more appearance the rest of the year after he injured his elbow in his first June start.
Ohtani will spend most of the next 15 months rehabbing his right elbow after having Tommy John surgery. Ohtani proved to be a formidable offensive weapon in the meantime, batting......................
Concerns were only worsened by the shortened 2020 season. Ohtani had a.190 batting average and only two pitching starts in which he allowed seven runs and recorded only five outs.
An aggressive winter followed. Ohtani changed his diet, got into more game-like situations as both a pitcher and a hitter, and showed up to spring training in 2021 looking like a completely different player. Angels manager Joe Maddon decided to let Ohtani dictate the terms of his season after watching his pitches breeze into the upper 90s. Prior restrictions were lifted so Ohtani could hit the day before, the day after and the day of his starts. He moved Ohtani from the mound to the outfielder to keep him in the lineup.
In July, Ohtani competed in the Home Run Derby, then led off the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and a hitter. The Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award was given to him by Rob Manfred in October, according to an MLB release. The combination of power, speed and pitching prowess of Ohtani was captivating to the audience. His splitter was devastating, but his fastball was electric. He hit 500-foot moonshots, but also legged out grounders.
The most respected people in his sport were left stunned by his talent when he first started, as fans lined up outside the Angel Stadium gates for his giveaways.
He is the most Valuable Person.
