Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan won the 2023 American League Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday. It was the second MVP award for the Los Angeles Angels’s multi-positional phenom, as he was previously honoured in 2021. Ohtani is not only of the game’s best hitters (a designated hitter), but also one of the game’s best pitchers. Quite frankly, Major League Baseball has never seen a player with Ohtani’s overall skillset before.
2023 MLB Hitting Statistics
Ohtani led the Major Leagues this past season in slugging percentage (.654). He also led the American League in home runs (44), on base percentage (.412), and total bases (325). In 135 games, Ohtani scored 102 runs and had 151 hits, 26 doubles, eight triples, 95 runs batted in, 20 stolen bases, 91 walks, a .304 batting average, and three sacrifice flies.
2023 MLB Pitching Statistics
Also this past year, Ohtani had a record of 10 wins and five losses with an earned run average of 3.14. He pitched 23 games and 132 innings, and gave up 85 hits, 46 earned runs, 18 home runs, and 55 walks, to go along with 167 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.06. Ohtani also had a complete game shutout on his resume in 2023. It came on July 27 in a 6-0 Angels win over the Detroit Tigers. Ohtani pitched nine complete innings and had eight strikeouts compared to only three walks. Ohtani also gave up only one hit in 111 pitches.
Second Japanese Player to win MVP
Ohtani is one of two Japanese players to win the Most Valuable Player award, and the only Japanese player to win it twice. The first was Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki of Nishikasugai-gun, who received the honour in 2001.
Angels who have won AL MVP
Ohtani is one of four Angels who have won the American League MVP. He is joined by left fielder Don Baylor of Austin, Texas (1979), right fielder Vladimir Guerrero of Nizao, Dominican Republic (2004), and outfielder Mike Trout, who win the award thrice in 2014, 2016 and 2019.
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