Even for DH, there is no disagreement! ‘MVP Ohtani’… The key is whether it is unanimous or not.

Sports | baseball

(Sports Seoul | Reporter Bae Bae-geun) As expected, Shohei Ohtani is among the three final candidates for Most Valuable Player (MVP). The MVP award is also certain.

Rather than selecting Otani as a candidate, I am more interested in whether he will be unanimously selected as MVP this time, like in 2021 and 2023.

On the 12th (Korean time), the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) announced the three finalists for the Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year, along with the MVPs of both the National League (NL) and American League (AL).

The three NL MVP candidates are Ohtani, Francisco Lindor (New York Mets), and Ketel Marte (Arizona). There is no disagreement that Ohtani is the MVP.

Awaiting unanimous results. The controversy over his qualifications as a designated hitter has already been erased. Ohtani appeared in 159 games this season and showed off his overwhelming skills.

He had a season batting average of 0.310 (197 hits in 636 at-bats) with 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs, and 59 stolen bases. With an on-base percentage of 0.390 and a slugging percentage of 0.646, the OPS is 1.036. NL home runs, RBI, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS are all first.

In particular, he opened the door to the 50-50 Club for the first time in ML.

If Ohtani’s award is confirmed, another record will be set in addition to unanimity. First of all, as a designated hitter, this is the first MVP title in ML.

And he won MVP awards in both leagues. Ohtani won the award with the AL’s LA Angels in 2021 and 2023. If Ohtani is selected as NL MVP this time, it will be the second record in history after Frank Robinson.

Robinson was selected as NL MVP (Cincinnati) in 1961 and AL MVP (Baltimore) in 1966.

In addition, Otani’s own shining record is also revealed. Ohtani becomes the first player in baseball history to win MVP of both leagues for two consecutive years.

Whether Ohtani is a unanimous MVP depends on the votes that might have gone to the Mets’ Lindor, who led the team to the postseason. The 30 reporters with voting rights exercised their voting rights immediately after the end of the regular season.

The three AL MVP candidates are Aaron Judge, Juan Soto (New York Yankees), and Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals). The AL is also interested in Judge being unanimously named MVP.

Judge recorded a batting average of 0.322, 58 home runs, 144 RBIs, and 122 runs this season.

The MVP, Cy Young Award, and Rookie of the Year awards for both ML major leagues will be announced at 8 a.m. on the 22nd. kenny@sportseoul.com