Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani was named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, tying him with Lance Armstrong, LeBron James and Tiger Woods for most among male honorees.
Previously honored in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels and 2024 with the Dodgers, Ohtani is one of four Dodgers to win the award, joining Maury Wills (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965 — the only other MLB multiple winner) and Orel Hershiser (1988).
This award marks the latest 2025 honor for Ohtani, to go with his fourth Most Valuable Player Award (AL 2021 and 2023, NL 2024–25) and his third consecutive Hank Aaron Award, honoring the top hitter in the league. He also won his fourth Silver Slugger (2021, 2023–25) and his fifth straight Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter award (2021–25).
The Japan native finished his second season with the Dodgers, slashing .282/.392/.622 with 55 round trippers and 102 RBI. He broke the Dodgers’ record for homers in a season, passing his mark from 2024 of 54. He set a new franchise record with 146 runs scored and he led the National League in slugging percentage (.622), OPS (1.014), total bases (380) and runs. He won the National League Player of the Month honor in May (sixth of his career) after finishing the month of May hitting .309 (34-for-110) with 15 homers, 27 RBI, five doubles, a triple, 17 walks, 31 runs scored, a .398 on-base percentage and a .782 slugging percentage in 27 games.
On the mound, he made 14 starts, going 1–1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings. He posted a 145 ERA+ with a 1.043 WHIP and finished the season tossing 16.2 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts against eight hits and four walks.
In the postseason, Ohtani finished his historic campaign by tying the franchise record with eight postseason homers in a season, joining Corey Seager, who clubbed eight homers in 2020. He is widely considered to have had the greatest playoff game of all time, hitting three homers and striking out 10 batters in six shutout innings as the Dodgers clinched the NL pennant, with Ohtani named NLCS MVP. The eight-time All-MLB selection and five-time All-Star also reached base nine times with two homers, two doubles and five walks (four intentional) in the Dodgers’ 18-inning World Series Game 3 triumph. He has 11 postseason round-trippers, which is tied for fourth all-time in franchise history with Kiké Hernández and Duke Snider, trailing only Max Muncy (16), Seager (13) and Justin Turner (13). He had three multi-homer games this past October.
Shohei Ohtani named AP Male Athlete of the Year was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.