Shohei Ohtani unanimously wins second AL MVP

One of the greatest seasons in baseball history has officially received its bow: Shohei Ohtani was awarded the 2023 American League MVP on Thursday, unanimously winning the honor for the second time in three years. 

He's the first player to earn a unanimous MVP vote twice.

The two-way superstar somehow reached new levels of dominance with the Angels this past season. He put up career numbers nearly across the board at the plate, slashing .304/.412/.654 while leading the majors in slugging, OPS and OPS+. He also hit an AL-best 44 home runs despite missing almost all of September. 

Ohtani might not have been as stellar on the mound as he was at the plate, but he was still among the game's elite. He went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA, a 1.061 WHIP and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings over 23 starts. He would've finished in the top five in the majors in strikeouts per nine innings (11.4), hits allowed per nine innings (5.8) and batting average against (.184) had he thrown enough innings to qualify. 

The apex of Ohtani's incredible season came in June, as he posted arguably the best month in the sport's long history. The lefty slugger hit .394 with a 1.444 OPS to go with 15 homers and 29 RBIs over 27 games. In that same month, the 6-foot-4 right-hander had a 3.26 ERA with 37 strikeouts. During a July doubleheader, he threw the first shutout of his six-year MLB career while allowing just one hit and then hit two homers in the second game.

Alas, the Summer of Shohei did finish in a disappointing fashion. In August, Ohtani was pulled early from starts and missed others because of injuries before suffering a second UCL tear in his pitching elbow. Ohtani appeared in the lineup a few more times following the injury but was shut down for good in the first week of September as the Angels were far out of contention. He underwent UCL surgery soon after and will not pitch next season, though he aims to be available as a hitter by 2024 Opening Day. 

Ohtani's MVP victory serves as a prelude to what's expected to be one of the biggest free-agency signings in the history of North American sports. The 29-year-old officially hit the open market earlier in November, launching the sweepstakes for a player who could receive the largest ever contract in baseball. 

While Ohtani's landing spot will remain a mystery for perhaps the next few weeks, one thing's for certain: There was no player more valuable than him in the American League this past season.  

With Ronald Acuña Jr. also earning all 30 first-place votes in the National League race, this marks the first time both MVP winners won unanimously. Ohtani, who finished as the AL MVP runner-up in 2022, won this year's honor over finalists Corey Seager and Marcus Semien of the Rangers.