Shohei Ohtani won two Most Valuable Player awards with the Angels, doing things no player had ever done before.
He won his third MVP in his first season with the Dodgers – still doing things no player had ever done before.
The first 50/50 season ever landed Ohtani the National League’s MVP award for 2024. Like his first two, Ohtani was a unanimous choice, receiving all 30 first-place votes. Finishing a distant second was New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who received 23 second-place votes and seven third-place votes.
“My goal was to be able to pitch and contribute offensively. The fact that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to pitch this season just made me focus more on my offensive game,” Ohtani said. “Fortunately, I was able to produce and get this award, which is very humbling.”
Ohtani is the 12th player to win as many as three MVP awards. Only one player – seven-time winner Barry Bonds – has ever won more than three, a record the 30-year-old Ohtani can take aim at during the nine years remaining on his record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
Ohtani is the first player to be voted MVP unanimously more than once.
“Obviously I had moved to a new league and everything has been kind of new experience,” Ohtani said. “There are so many great players in the National League obviously. To be able to win the award unanimously is a great feeling. I’m very proud of that. Hopefully, I can continue in the upcoming seasons to be able to perform to this level.”
He joins Hall of Famer Frank Robinson as the only players to win MVP awards in both leagues. Robinson won with the Cincinnati Reds in the NL in 1961 and with the Baltimore Orioles in the American League in 1966.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was also a unanimous choice as the American League MVP.
Ohtani sat on a red sofa with his wife and dog Decoy as teammate Clayton Kershaw announced the award on the MLB Network. The Nederlanse kooikerhondje immediately jumped away.
“I’m just taking this as representing the team in winning this award,” Ohtani said during the awards show on MLB Network. “Obviously I didn’t go into the season trying to get the MVP award. I was more focused on being one of the guys with a new team with the Dodgers. I also wanted to embrace the fans and let them learn who I was.
“The ultimate goal from the beginning was to win a World Series which we were able to accomplish. … Right now, the next goal is for me to do it again. Right now, I’m in the middle of rehab (from shoulder surgery), working out, getting stronger. I’m looking forward to next year and running it back.”
Ohtani is the first Dodger to be voted MVP since Cody Bellinger in 2019 and the 13th overall (including Roy Campanella who won it three times).
Stripped of his ability to pitch until next season, Ohtani became the first designated hitter to win the award in either league (Ohtani also pitched when he won his two AL MVPs). Ohtani also won the Edgar Martinez Award as the top DH in either league (his fourth consecutive season winning that award), a Silver Slugger award and the Hank Aaron Award as the top offensive player in the National League.
Even while he was rehabbing from a second reconstructive elbow surgery performed in September 2023, Ohtani became the fastest of six players to have 40/40 seasons and went on to set career highs in home runs (54 – also a Dodgers’ franchise record) and stolen bases (59), becoming the first player in major-league history to top 50 in both categories in the same season.
“I didn’t have specific number goals,” Ohtani said on MLB Network when asked if he targeted a 50/50 season. “I did want to improve my stolen base numbers (since he wasn’t pitching).”
He finished second in the majors in home runs (behind the 58 hit by Judge) and stolen bases (behind the 67 swiped by Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz). The last time a player finished in the top two in both of those categories was Ty Cobb in 1909.
Ohtani led the National League in runs scored (134), RBIs (130), on-base percentage (.390), slugging percentage (.646), OPS (1.036) and home runs. His .310 batting average was second in the NL, just four points short of San Diego’s Luis Arraez – and just short of the first Triple Crown in the NL since 1939.
Ohtani’s historic season culminated in a World Series championship with the Dodgers in his first postseason, both he and the team managing to meet the massive expectations created by his record contract.
“Like you said there were very high expectations placed on the team. That includes the manager, the front office, the team as a whole,” Ohtani said. “Within these stressful conditions we were able to achieve the ultimate goal which was to win the World Series. So I think in that respect as a team we were able to definitely meet those expectations.
“Moving forward, I do think we will have a target on our back and we will be expected to possibly do even more. But we are as a team going to continue to do the best we can and try to achieve those goals.”
Ohtani is expected to return to two-way player status in 2025, but his pitching debut with the Dodgers will be delayed by a left shoulder injury he suffered during the World Series. He suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder during Game 2 and had surgery to repair labrum damage shortly after the end of the World Series.
The surgery is not expected to impact his ability to play DH, but the shoulder rehab will affect the completion of Ohtani’s rehab from last year’s elbow surgery and postpone his pitching debut until after the start of the 2025 season. The Dodgers are scheduled to start the season early again, this time with two games in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18 and 19.
“The goal is to be ready for Opening Day. That includes hitting and pitching,” Ohtani said. “We are kind of taking our time. Obviously we want to make sure that I’m healthy first. We’re not going to rush anything. I think, discussing my shoulder, I think we are going to take a little bit more time and be conservative and we’re going to make sure I’m healthy before I step back on the mound.”
3-TIME MVP WINNERS
Barry Bonds (7) – 1990, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Yogi Berra (3) – 1951, 1954, 1955
Roy Campanella (3) – 1951, 1953, 1955
Joe DiMaggio (3) – 1939, 1941, 1947
Jimmie Foxx (3) – 1932, 1933, 1938
Mickey Mantle (3) – 1956, 1957, 1962
Stan Musial (3) – 1943, 1946, 1948
Shohei Ohtani (3) – 2021, 2023, 2024
Albert Pujols (3) – 2005, 2008, 2009
Alex Rodriguez (3) – 2003, 2005, 2007
Mike Schmidt (3) – 1980, 1981, 1986
Mike Trout (3) – 2014, 2016, 2019