Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels was unable to finish the season after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, but this hardly prevented him from unanimously winning his second AL MVP award.
The 29-year-old Japanese pitcher won his first AL MVP award in 2021. Winning the award unanimously on two occasions also made Ohtani the first player to do so, ESPN reported.
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"Obviously I wanted to win it last year, but [Aaron] Judge had a spectacular season and, deservedly so, he won it," the three-time All-Star stated through an interpreter, as reported by ABC 7 on Thursday, November 16.
"So I wanted to come back stronger and try to win it this year, and I know my rivals, Semien, Seager, they had great seasons, and congrats to them for winning the World Series. I think it's awesome," he added.
Did Bonds, Mantle do it better?
With Ohtani's latest milestone, other MLB players who won the award come to mind. But where does the Japanese pitching sensation rank?
Here are some notable names who have won the prestigious award, as detailed by Will Leigh of MLB.com.
- Barry Bonds (2001, San Francisco Giants)
- Bob Gibson (1968, St. Louis Cardinals)
- Mickey Mantle (1956, New York Yankees)
- Cal Ripken Jr. (1991, Baltimore Orioles)
- Albert Pujols (2009, St. Louis Cardinals)
Of that list, Bonds is worth checking out. He is a seven-time NL MVP winner, and his best year was perhaps in 2001. This was when he set the single-season MLB records for home runs (73) and slugging percentage (.863) while posting a 259 OPS+ and a career-high 11.9 WAR per Bleacher Report.
In 2004, Bonds tallied 232 walks and a .609 on-base percentage. Worth noting is that despite his performance, Bonds struggled to lead his team to the playoffs on both occasions.
Mickey Mantle is also worth pointing out. He won back-to-back AL MVP awards (1956 and 1957) and his third in 1962. Further, he is a 7-time World Series champion.
Where does Ohtani rank?
For now, the only chink seen in Ohtani is that he is on a team that is hardly tipped to make it to the World Series. All that could change in the offseason.
Despite undergoing surgery, the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year is expected to be courted by multiple teams. He has been mum on what he plans to do with his agent, Nez Balelo, bent on keeping things quiet, CBS Sports reported.
Although it is a given that he will be getting a huge payday, hopefully, it would be with a team with better chances of winning a World Series.
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