By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball-Autor
NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his third most valuable player award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge won his second award in the American League on Thursday.
Ohtani was unanimously named MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America poll. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte was third with 229 points.
The judge was elected unanimously for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. received all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto finished third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points.
Judge discussed the MVP award with Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, the 2015 and 2021 NL winner.
“I told him, ‘Man, I’m going to try and catch you with these MVPs here, man,'” Judge recalled. “He would say that hopefully he could get a little ahead of me, and I think he can do that.”
Ohtani was unanimously selected as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023 and was ranked second to Judge in the 2022 ballot. After elbow surgery, he did not play in 2024 and signed a US record 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December.
He was the first player to win unanimous MVP twice. He teamed up with Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023, the first year both agreed on MVPs.
Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter. He became the first player with 50 or more home runs and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers win the World Series title and played the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
Ohtani was the first primary DH to win an MVP. He was traded to Cincinnati to join Frank Robinson in 1961 and to Baltimore in 1966, becoming the only player to win MVP awards in both leagues.
Ohtani joins Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each) as the 12th player with three or more MVPs ). ).
Voting was conducted before the postseason.
Judge led the major leagues with 58 home runs, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while batting .322. Witt led the major leagues with a .332 average and hit 32 home runs with 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs. Soto hit .288 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs.
When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two.
When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. He is the Yankees’ 22nd MVP winner, four more than any other team.
Judge hit .207 with six homers and 18 RBIs in April and then hit .352 with 52 homers and 126 RBIs in 127 games.
“March and April were not my friends this year,” Richter said. “Just keep working and things will change. You can’t be depressed. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Especially in New York, no one will be sorry. So you just have to go out and enter the numbers?
Voting was conducted before the postseason.
