When people ask who the most famous athletes in the world are, many names come up such as Lebron James, Lionel Messi, or Tom Brady. Rather recently, a new name has appeared, Shohei Ohtani. Shohei Ohtani, born in Mizusawa, Oshu, Japan, played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, a Japanese professional team, before coming to the states and playing for the Los Angeles Angels. In his first couple years of Major League Baseball, he shocked the world, winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award, and two Most Valuable Player awards, one in 2021, and the other in 2023. Shohei was able to win two MVPs because of his ability to pitch and swing the bat, which he greatly excelled at, hitting a staggering 46 home runs, while pitching to a 3.18 ERA in 2021. Thus when Ohtani headed into free agency, he was highly sought after, ultimately settling with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 700 million dollars, the highest contract in North American sports history.
With extremely high expectations, the question was if Shohei would be as dominant, as he was injured and could not pitch this season; he would end up having one of the greatest seasons in the history of MLB. Ohtani led the league with 54 home runs, 130 RBI, runs batted in, and 59 stolen bases, being the first person in history to have 50+ home runs and 50+ stolen bases, forever cementing himself in history. Despite being a designated hitter, Ohtani led the National League with 9.2 bWAR, which is well above the average of 2.0 in the statistic. During the World Series, Shohei suffered a left shoulder subluxation, forcing him to wear a shoulder brace before the game. With this injury, Shohei still chose to collect two hits and two runs, ultimately helping the Dodgers win the championship, showing his true character and determination to be the best. Ohtani is competing with Francisco Lindor and Ketel Marte, but most would agree that Shohei should win the MVP as a unanimous selection. If he wins this award, he will be the first person to win a MVP as a DH, and the second person to win a MVP in both the American and National League, establishing himself of one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
