Ok Shohei Ohtani named NL Hank Aaron Award winner
by Megan Garcia
Silver Slugger. Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. All-MLB First Team. And Shohei Ohtani is the National League’s Hank Aaron Award winner for 2024.
Ohtani becomes the second Dodger in franchise history to win the award, joining Matt Kemp (2011).
Ohtani won the American League Hank Aaron Award with the Angels in 2023.
He is the first player in Major League Baseball history to win the Hank Aaron Award in both leagues and joins Alex Rodríguez, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Christian Yelich and Aaron Judge to win the award multiple times.
The Hank Aaron Award is awarded annually to the best overall offensive performer in each league. The award was introduced in 1999 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. A panel of Hall of Famers combines with a fan vote to determine the winners.
Ohtani powered his way to top of the National League in home runs (54), runs (134), RBI (130), slugging (.646) and OBP (.380). His 411 total bases also led all MLB hitters. He also led the National League with 99 extra-base hits. His previous single-season high was 80 in 2021.
He ranked in the top three of 25 offensive categories while leading in 19 of them, according to Baseball Reference. Ohtani also ranked in the 100th percentile for expected slugging, average exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit percentage. He hit in the 99th percentile for expected weighted on-base average and expected batting average.
Ohtani was named the Hank Aaron Award winner, Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award winner and All-MLB First-Team Designated Hitter on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani named NL Hank Aaron Award winner was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.