Ohtani Wins 4th MVP Award

Shohei Ohtani likes winning Most Valuable Player awards. He loves winning the World Series even more. The two-way Japenese star did both for a second season in a row for the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning his fourth career MVP on Thursday night while unanimously earning the National League honor, the AP reports. He's just the second to win four MVPs after Barry Bonds with seven and the only player to win unanimously more than once. All four of his wins have been unanimous, ESPN reports. Considering Ohtani is 31, overtaking Bonds doesn't seem out of the question. Especially if it leads to more Fall Classic opportunities.

"If I'm playing well as an individual that means I'm helping the team win, so in that sense, hopefully I can end up with a couple more MVPs," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "But at the end of the day, it's all about winning games." Ohtani previously won MVP in the American League with the Angels in 2021 and 2023, and is the first to win in each league twice. Ohtani signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He's also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.

In the American League this year, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees' fourth three-time winner, edging Seattle's Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout topped Houston's Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019. Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers. Judge is the first AL player to win back-to-back MVPs since Detroit's Miguel Cabrera it in 2012 and 2013.