Shohei Ohtani Wins Unanimous 2021 AL MVP Award
ANAHEIM (CBSLA) - Shohei Ohtani is your 2021 American League MVP. He was a unanimous vote, getting all 30 first-place votes.
Following a year in which he did something we often hadn't seen since the days of Babe Ruth, Ohtani was rightfully crowned as the Most Valuable Player in the American League. He is the 19th player in MLB history to receive the award unanimously, and the second Japanese-born player following Ichiro Suzuki's win in 2001.
Dominant both on the mound and at the plate, Ohtani was finished with the highest overall WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in Major League Baseball, 9.1.
Ohtani, named to his first All-Star Game in 2021, played in 155 games this season, hitting .257 with 46 homers and 100 RBIs, as well as a league-high eight triples. He added 26 stolen bases as well.
His slash line (AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS) sit at .257, .372, .592, .965 for the year. His slugging percentage finished fourth-highest in the league, behind three other MVP candidates, while his on base plus slugging was fifth-highest in the league, behind four other MVP candidates.
On the mound, Ohtani was 9-2 with an ERA of 3.18 and 156 strikeouts over 130.1 innings pitched.
He was the first player ever to be selected to the All-Star Game in two positions, as a pitcher and a designated hitter.
Add it to the list of awards Ohtani has received this year, as he was also awarded his first Silver Slugger Award this season for the Designated Hitter Position, given an esteemed Comissioner's Historic Achievement Award (just the 14th time the award has been given out) and was voted as both the MLB Player of the Year and the American League Outstanding Player of the year by his peers. He was also given two Angels organization awards - the Nick Adenhart Award for Angels Best Pitcher and the trophy for Angels Most Valuable Player.
Ohtani is the second player on the current Angels roster to be given the award, and the first recipient since Mike Trout in 2019. Trout also won the award in 2014 and 2016.
He becomes the fourth Angels player all-time to receive an MVP Award, following Don Baylor in 1979 and Vladimir Guerrero in 2004.
Runners-up for the American League trophy were first baseman Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and second baseman Marcus Semien, both of the Toronto Blue Jays. Guerrero, Jr. received 29 of 30 second-place votes.
Fellow-superstar, MVP and teammate Mike Trout reacted to Ohtani winning the award accordingly:
Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies was the winner of the National League MVP, the second of his career, after winning with the Washington Nationals in 2015.
