The 2023 ESPY Awards took place on Wednesday night from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and two Majors League Baseball players were honoured. Los Angeles Angels pitcher/designated hitter phenom Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan was named the best Major League Baseball Player of the Year, and Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks of Perth, Australia won the Jimmy V Award.
Who did Ohtani beat?
Ohtani defeated three finalists. They were St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt of Wilmington, Delaware, New York Mets starting pitcher Justin Verlander of Manakin-Sabot, Virginia, and New York Yankees first baseman Aaron Judge of Sacramento, California. It should be noted that Judge and Verlander were recognized more for their outstanding 2022 Major League Baseball regular seasons rather than 2023. Judge led the Major Leagues in 2022 with 133 runs scored, 62 home runs, 131 runs batted in, 391 total bases, a .425 on base percentage and a .686 slugging percentage. Verlander was on an Astros team that won the 2022 World Series, and had a spectacular regular season record of 18 wins and four losses, with an earned run average 1.75.
Shohei Ohtani
What Ohtani is accomplishing on a regular basis with the Angels in 2023 is amazing. He is a premier pitcher and hitter. On the mound he has a record of seven wins and four losses with an earned run average of 3.32. He has pitched in 17 games and 100 1/3 innings pitched and given up 67 hits, 37 earned runs and 43 walks to go along with 132 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.10. Up to bat, Ohtani is batting .302 with 32 home runs and 71 runs batted in. During 89 games, 341 at bats and 389 plate appearances, he has scored 63 runs and had 103 hits, 15 doubles, six triples, 11 stolen bases, 48 walks, 226 total bases, three sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .387, and a slugging percentage of .663. Ohtani leads the Major Leagues this season in home runs, triples, slugging percentage and total bases.
Liam Hendriks
Hendriks meanwhile was being honoured for fighting cancer. He has won two games with the White Sox since returning to the team on May 29. He beat the Detroit Tigers 6-2 on June 4 and the Miami Marlins 2-1 on June 9. Hendriks also picked up the save on June 6 in a 3-2 White Sox win over the New York Yankees.
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