Two-way Japanese star Shohei Ohtani was the unanimous winner of the National League Most Valuable Player award on Thursday, his third straight year receiving the honor and fourth overall.<\/p>\n
Ohtani became just the second player in MLB history to win at least four MVP awards, trailing only seven by Barry Bonds.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Ohtani won American League MVP with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023. He signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He’s also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.<\/p>\n
Ohtani garnered all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. He’s won all four of his MVPs in unanimous fashion.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second with 23 second-place votes while New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto was third with four.<\/p>\n
Ohtani hit .282 and led the NL with a 1.014 OPS. He also had 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. <\/p>\n
The right-hander returned to pitching in June after missing 1 1\/2 seasons on the mound because of an elbow injury. He struck out 62 batters over 47 innings, slowly increasing his workload while preparing for the postseason. <\/p>\n
Ohtani continued to shine in October with arguably the greatest single game in MLB history<\/a>. He hit three homers at the plate while striking out 10 over six dominant innings on Oct. 17, leading the Dodgers over the Milwaukee Brewers to finish an NL Championship Series sweep.<\/p>\n Schwarber was a finalist for the Phillies after hitting an NL-best 56 homers and leading the big leagues with 132 RBIs. The three-time All-Star played in all 162 games, anchoring a lineup that won 96 games.<\/p>\n Soto overcame a slow start to the season to have his typically stellar offensive output. The four-time All-Star \u2014 who signed a $765 million, 15-year deal<\/a> last December \u2014 had 43 homers, 105 RBIs and an NL-best 38 stolen bases.<\/p>\n The American League MVP winner was to be announced later Thursday, with New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez the finalists.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n