After just one prize was obtainable once they met within the World Collection, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Decide each walked away winners Thursday.
Ohtani was named Nationwide League Most Priceless Participant following his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, whereas Decide received his second American League MVP in three seasons with the New York Yankees.
For the third time in 4 years, Ohtani received a league MVP award by unanimous vote; final yr he turned the one participant to take action a number of instances. Decide was additionally the unanimous winner within the AL, the twentieth participant to perform the feat.
Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets completed second in NL voting and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks was third. Within the AL, Kansas Metropolis Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. acquired all 30 second-place votes and Decide’s Yankee teammate Juan Soto completed third.
The respect for Ohtani caps a very memorable month after he helped the Dodgers to the franchise’s second championship in 36 seasons with a five-game World Collection win over the Yankees.
Ohtani, 30, turned simply the second participant to win the MVP in each leagues after Frank Robinson did it in 1961 with the NL’s Cincinnati Reds and in 1966 with the AL’s Baltimore Orioles. He additionally turned the primary MVP winner whereas enjoying as his group’s major designated hitter.
A shoulder harm prevented Ohtani from pitching this previous season, however as a two-way participant for the Los Angeles Angels, he received unanimous AL MVPs in each 2021 and 2023.
In 159 video games in the course of the 2024 common season, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL in OPS (1.036), slugging proportion (.646), residence runs (54) and RBIs (130). He turned the primary participant to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases, taking 59. He narrowly missed out on the league’s triple crown, ending second for the NL batting title to the San Diego Padres’ Luis Arraez (.314).
Within the first postseason of his profession, Ohtani batted .230 with a .767 OPS, with three residence runs and 10 RBIs. He injured his shoulder in Sport 2 of the World Collection but continued to play and batted simply .105 with no RBIs in 5 video games. Ohtani had shoulder surgical procedure after the World Collection ended and is anticipated to be able to play by the beginning of spring coaching.
Decide, 32, led the Yankees to the World Collection after batting .322 with a 1.159 OPS in 158 video games this previous common season. He additionally had an MLB-best 58 residence runs with 144 RBIs. His home-run complete didn’t match the 62 he hit whereas successful the AL MVP in 2022, however his OPS was higher than his 1.111 mark from that season.
Decide didn’t win the MVP in 2023 after a toe harm value him greater than a month.
In 14 postseason video games in October, Decide batted simply .184 with a .752 OPS, together with three residence runs and 9 RBIs. In 5 World Collection video games, he batted .222 with a lone residence run that got here early in Sport 5 earlier than the Dodgers rallied to win the title.
Through the 2024 common season, Decide set profession highs in batting common, on-base proportion (.458), slugging proportion (.701). OPS, hits (180), doubles (36), RBIs and walks (133). He was named to the AL All-Star group for the sixth time.
Whereas Ohtani was enjoying the primary season of a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, Decide was within the second season of a nine-year, $360 million contract with the Yankees.
–Area Degree Media
