Shohei Ohtani was named unanimous MVP for the second straight season on Thursday. The catch? This time he's National League MVP, having moved from the Los Angeles Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the winter.
While there was some initial concern about Ohtani's impact in a non-pitching season, he put any hand-wringing to bed quickly with a historic offensive output. Never has a full-time DH won the MVP award until this season, and it's because of how absurd Ohtani's production was. He didn't just kick his power up a couple notches; Ohtani posted a career-best batting average (.310) while becoming a menace on the base paths.
Ohtani is now the sole proprietor of the MLB's exclusive 50-50 club, having rocketed 54 home runs (a career high) to go along with 59 stolen bases (a career high). He slashed .310/.390/.646 with 130 RBI, also a career high. His 9.2 WAR... oh, a career high on the offensive front.
Career-high was the theme of Ohtani's season, and it's especially brutal for the fans he left.
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Angels fans watch solemnly from sidelines as Shohei Ohtani wins NL MVP with Dodgers
Ohtani made his bones with the Angels, swiftly becoming the most dominant individual force in the majors today. Ohtani achieved countless accolades and milestones in Anaheim, but he never put together a season quite like this — made all the more painful by his postseason success.
After six straight campaigns without a single playoff game in Anaheim, Ohtani's first season with the Dodgers resulted in a World Series victory. Ohtani was great in the playoffs, because of course he was. There has never been much doubt about Ohtani's ability to perform when the lights are brightest, but unfortunately, the lights never got bright enough with the Angels to test that theory.
Los Angeles of Anaheim fans spent this season suffering through another Mike Trout injury crisis while the team plummeted to the bottom of the standings. Ron Washington is a beloved coaching figure around the league, but even he couldn't drag the Angels to respectability without Ohtani or Trout in the lineup.
Naturally, Angels fans were the butt of plenty of jokes and subtle jabs after the Ohtani MVP announcement.
Shohei went 50/50, another unanimous MVP and a World Series title.
— Barstool Are Dee Tee (@editti22) November 21, 2024
Mike Trout is flapping his arms at eagles games singing “Fly Eagles Fly”
This is the first time since 2011 that no Angels received an MVP vote. Either Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani had finished in the top five in all of those seasons. https://t.co/Cd2v5UceY8
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) November 21, 2024
No NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL player in history has more than one unanimous MVP award. Shohei Ohtani just won his THIRD. A truly special once-in-history athlete.
— Mike Gobblebascio 🦃 (@Guardabascio) November 22, 2024
MVPup. 🐶
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 22, 2024
A round of a-paws for the Champ and now MVP, Decoy. pic.twitter.com/R0AYtCzM8e
Shohei Ohtani joins Frank Robinson as the only players that have won the Most Valuable Player award in both the National and American Leagues.
— FunBaseballFacts (@FunBaseballFact) November 22, 2024
Robinson won with the #Reds in 1961 and the #Orioles in 1966. Ohtani won with the #Angels in 2021 and 2023, and the #Dodgers this year. pic.twitter.com/j6LYjJVOru
I’ll say this, Shohei needed the Angels. They were the only team to let him pitch and hit. So please, no Angels slander or “should have been a Dodger his entire career.” These stans think they actually know baseball.
— Chuck de Guzman (@chuckpreme) November 22, 2024
Prior to 2024, no MLB player had ever had a season with:
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) November 22, 2024
50+ HR
90+ XBH
World Series appearance
unanimous MVP award
Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani both did it this year. pic.twitter.com/fd3jzoCVQp
Players who have won 3 MVP's and an ROY Award:
— The Case For: A Baseball Hall of Fame Podcast (@TheCaseFor) November 21, 2024
Mike Trout
Albert Pujols
(soon to be Shohei Ohtani?)
All 3 of these guys were on THE SAME TEAM for 3 full seasons 2018- 2020 and part of a 4th (2021).
During those years the Angels never finished higher than 4th.#MVP #Angels
Short story short: while we can all appreciate the role the Angels played in developing and maximizing Ohtani individually over the years, nothing will dull the pain of watching him flourish with the big-brother franchise across town.
The Angels fanbase is passionate and resilient out of necessity, but it's tough to watch all these great things happen at once for Ohtani as soon as he joins the more glamorous LA team. Especially when we know the Angels put the same offer on the table last winter. Ohtani left because he thought the Dodgers were a better organization — and he was right.
We may never see another Shohei-esque figure in the MLB, and it sure seems like the Angels will need a while to get their feet back under them. Credit to the Dodgers, though. It's no small feat to shell out $700 million in guaranteed money and immediately get such a strong return on investment that nobody questions it.