Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) will make another major league first history.
On the 8th (Korea Standard Time), the Major League Secretariat announced 20 finalists for the Hank Aaron Award (10 players from each league) that will be awarded to the batter who performed the best in each league.
In the National League (NL), 10 candidates were selected, including William Contreras (Miladelphia Brewers), Elie de la Cruz (Cincinnati Reds), Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies), Francisco Lindor (New York Mets), Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks), Jackson Merrill (San Diego Padres), Marcel Ozuna (Atlanta Braves), Freddie Freeman and Ohtani (Dodgers).
It is the fourth time that Ohtani has been named as a candidate for the Hank Aaron Award. Ohtani, who won the AL MVP in 2021 with his outstanding pitching and hitting performance in both sides when he was with the Los Angeles Angels, played 158 games as a batter with a batting average of 0.257 and a batting average of 46 home runs, 100 RBIs and an OPS of 0.964. However, Ohtani was defeated by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays (0.311, 48 home runs, 111 RBIs and an OPS of 1.002).
Ohtani was once again on the shortlist for the Hank Aaron Award in 2022 with a batting average of 0.273 in 157 games and 34 homers, 95 RBIs and an OPS of 0.875). Ohtani’s batting performance was not good enough, as he beat Aaron Judge, the “clean home run king” of the New York Yankees who hit 62 home runs (with a batting average of 0.311 62 home runs and 131 RBIs in 157 games and an OPS of 1.111).
Ohtani’s first dream of winning the award came true in 2023. Despite not finishing the season until the end of last year due to injury, Ohtani became the winner of the AL Hank Aaron Award for the first time in three games with an outstanding batting average of 0.304 with 44 homers and 95 RBIs in 135 games and an OPS of 1.066.
Ohtani, who moved to the Dodgers and played in the NL ahead of this season, focused on designated hitters in 159 games, hitting 0.310 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 134 runs, 59 steals, and OPS 1.036. It is the first time in MLB history that 50-50 clubs have opened, and the first designated hitter MVP award is also on the horizon.
If Ohtani wins the Hank Aaron Award, he will have a winner for the second consecutive year in five years after Christian Yelich (the Milwaukee Brewers), who won the 2018 and 2019 award, and he will be the first player to win the Hank Aaron Award in both leagues since producing the first winner in 1999.
Meanwhile, Jordan Alvarez (Houston Astros), Jeron Duran (Boston Red Sox), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto), Gunner Henderson, Anthony Santander (Baltimore Orioles), Aaron Judge, Juan Soto (Yankees), Jose Ramirez (Claveland Guardians), Brent Rooker (Oakland Athletics), and Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals) are on the shortlist.
The Hank Aaron Award was established in 1999 to mark the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron (755 homers in total) surpassing Babe Ruth’s (714 homers), and the winner is decided by combining the panel of Hall of Fame members and fan voting. 메이저놀이터
