Fresh off of winning the first World Series of his career, Shohei Ohtani was unanimously voted as the 2024 National League MVP.
It is the first time anyone has won the award as a designated hitter.
This is Ohtani’s third time winning MVP (all unanimously) and the first time in the National League. Ohtani is the second player to win the award in both leagues, joining Frank Robinson.
Ohtani became the 15th MVP in Dodgers franchise history and the first since Cody Bellinger in 2019.
It was a complete team effort, I wouldn’t have been able to receive this award if it weren’t for my teammates,” Ohtani said after winning the award. “I’m receiving this award as representing the team.”
When Ohtani signed his mega $700M contract last offseason, he was coming off a major arm surgery for the second time in his MLB career. While he couldn’t pitch in 2024, he could still play as a designated hitter.
There were some concerns as to how much value Ohtani could bring as a DH-only player. He silenced those concerns by putting up the best offensive season of his career.
In his first year in Los Angeles, Ohtani helped lead the Dodgers to the playoffs while hitting .310/.390/1.036 with an OPS+ of 190. He also led the National League in home runs, RBI, on-base percentage and slugging percentage while hitting leadoff for most of the season.
Ohtani shattered multiple Dodger and MLB records en route to becoming the MVP.
He broke the franchise record for most home runs in a single season while simultaneously becoming the first-ever player in history to have a 50/50 season.
He did all of this while recovering from surgery that would have forced any other player to miss the season.
Ohtani winning MVP is an amazing end to what was an unreal first year with the Dodgers. When he returns to the mound in 2025, there is no telling what other records he could break.