Shohei Ohtani spent 2023 as the most dominant player in the American League, and now he has the award to prove it to top off his magical season. MLB announced that Ohtani was voted the 2023 AL MVP, giving the superstar his second MVP award in the past three seasons.
After a solid first three seasons in MLB, Ohtani took off in 2021, when he won his first MVP award, then finished second to Aaron Judge in last year’s voting.
Ohtani put up incredible numbers in 2023, leading the league with 44 home runs and a 1.066 OPS, with the latter leading all of baseball. He also started 23 games as a pitcher, accumulating 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched.
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Although Rangers stars and World Series champions Corey Seager and Marcus Semien were also finalists, the award was Ohtani’s to lose all along. The BBWAA voted Ohtani as the winner unanimously, just as it did in ’21, making Ohtani the first player ever with multiple unanimous MVPs.
With Ohtani winning the award, an Angel has now won the AL MVP in five of the last 10 seasons, as Mike Trout won three MVPs previously. However, the two-way star now enters free agency, as he is unlikely to re-sign with the Angels.
