Less than halfway through the season, the AL MVP race appears over. And it’s not even close. Shohei Ohtani is playing the best baseball of his career for the best Angels team of his career.
If not for Aaron Judge hitting 62 home runs last year, Ohtani would be looking at a third straight MVP. Think about this when you want a quick appreciation of the wonder of Ohtani: The same guy who leads the major leagues in home runs (22, tied with Pete Alonso) also is the toughest pitcher to hit (5.6 hits per nine innings).
If you think back to pre-Ohtani days, the idea that the best home run hitter in baseball could also be the toughest pitcher to hit would be mind-blowing. It still should be. Because Ohtani is three seasons into elite two-way duty should not diminish the amazement. It should enhance it. There have been better hitters and better pitchers, but because he has done both this well for this long, Ohtani is the most amazing player ever.
Ohtani could win the MVP just based on what he has done as a hitter. He is off to a historic start. He is only the second hitter through 71 team games to hit .300 with 22 homers, 10 stolen bases and three triples:
Through 71 Team Games
| Year | Avg. | HR | SB | 3B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Trout |
2018 |
.323 |
22 |
13 |
3 |
Shohei Ohtani |
2023 |
.301 |
22 |
10 |
3 |
Now consider that this hitter, with an elite combination of power and speed, also is one of the nine toughest pitchers to hit ever:
Fewest Hits Per 9 IP (Qualified, min. 14 GS)
1. Nolan Ryan |
1972 |
5.3 |
Luis Tiant |
1968 |
5.3 |
Nolan Ryan |
1991 |
5.3 |
Pedro Martinez |
2000 |
5.3 |
Ed Reulbach |
1906 |
5.3 |
6. Justin Verlander |
2019 |
5.5 |
7. Shohei Ohtani |
2023 |
5.6 |
Blake Snell |
2018 |
5.6 |
Dutch Leonard |
1904 |
5.6 |
In his first five years, Ohtani never played for a winning Angels team and never finished fewer than 10 games out of first place. The Angels walked into Globe Life Field this week to play the first-place Rangers in one of the biggest series Ohtani has seen in MLB. All he did in four games was bat .583, reach base 14 times in 20 plate appearances, hit four home runs, slug 1.667 and win a game on the mound with a quality start (six innings, two earned runs) against the top offense in baseball.
Turning 29 next month, rather than wearing down from his unprecedented two-way duty, Ohtani is better than ever. How hot is Ohtani? This hot:
- In his past 10 games, Ohtani is slashing .472/.575/1.139 on a 17-for-36 tear. The run includes seven home runs, 13 RBIs and going 3-for-3 in stolen bases.
- Of his past 10 fly balls, seven have been home runs.
- He is hitting everything. His past seven homers have been hit off five different pitches (two sliders, two cutters, one sinker, one change and one four-seamer). Four of those seven homers have traveled 440 feet or more.
- Ohtani is posting career bests in OBP (.382), batting average (.301), slugging (.620), strikeout rate (21.4%) and OPS+ (170).
While crushing MLB pitching, Ohtani continues to pitch every sixth day and does so like an ace. The Babe Ruth two-way comparison fell apart long ago. Ruth maintained regular work as a two-way player over just 195 team games before admitting it was too much work midway through the 1919 season and becoming a full-time hitter. Ohtani has kept it up across 395 team games these past three seasons. Their volume across their seasons of full-time two-way duty heavily favors Ohtani:
As a Hitter
| G | HR | SB | OPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ohtani (2021–23) |
381 |
102 |
47 |
.934 |
Ruth (1918–19) |
225 |
40 |
13 |
1.052 |
As a Pitcher
| G | W–L | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|
Ohtani (2021–23) |
65 |
30–13 |
2.83 |
Ruth (1918–19) |
37 |
22–12 |
2.55 |
At this point in his career, Ohtani has no comp. To create one, you must merge two first-ballot Hall of Famers to equal one Ohtani:
Through 635 Career Games Hitting
| HR | RBIs | SB | OPS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Shohei Ohtani |
149 |
396 |
76 |
.899 |
Frank Robinson |
143 |
395 |
52 |
.922 |
Through 77 Career Games Pitching
| W–L | ERA | IP | |
|---|---|---|---|
Shohei Ohtani |
34–16 |
3.02 |
431.2 |
Whitey Ford |
38–13 |
2.96 |
465.0 |
Don’t take this for granted, folks. Ohtani is having a season that is a combination of peak Mike Trout and Justin Verlander, and a career that is a mash-up of Frank Robinson and Whitey Ford. No one has been more amazing than Ohtani.
