Ohtani Wins AL MVP Unanimously, His First

A Seattle finale that sealed the case

The season closed on 4 October in Seattle. Batting leadoff, Ohtani turned on a 1-1 cutter and drove his 46th home run of the year to right field. The ball left the bat at 112.9 mph and travelled a projected 418 feet.

The blast brought his 100th run batted in, a career first, in a 7-3 win over the Mariners. He hit .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs and 26 stolen bases across 155 games. On the mound he made 23 starts with a 3.18 ERA.

A season without precedent in the record books

The vote was unanimous: all 30 first-place ballots and 420 points, 151 clear of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Ohtani became the first player in league history with 45 homers, 25 steals and five triples in one season. He led the majors with 9.1 wins above replacement.

He is the third starting pitcher to win AL MVP in the past 50 years, after Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander. The 46 homers passed Mike Trout's 2019 total for the second most in a season in Angels history. His 20 intentional walks led the American League.

"Growing up I watched Ichiro and he won MVP, and it got me wanting to play in the big leagues someday," Ohtani said through his interpreter. He became the second Japanese-born player to win the award, after Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

This was the first of many. In the years that followed he added three more unanimous MVPs, the most any player has won.