Ohtani Named AP Male Athlete of the Year

Ohtani has joined a supburb group of athletes.

There was really only one choice. The Associated Press has named Los Angeles Dodgers 2-way superstar Shohei Ohtani as its Male Athlete of the Year for the third time in his career, a honor that puts him on par with NBA legend and who many regard as the G.O.A.T. of basketball, Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

Cycalist Lance Armstrong, golpherTiger Woods and and four-time NBA champion LeBron James are the only four-time winners.

“I’m very honored,” Ohtani told the AP’s Beth Harris through his intrepretor, Matt Hidaka. “Obviously all the hard work has paid off. Maybe next year, I’ll get the award again.

Ohani went on to say, “Growing up in Japan, I did follow Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. I would see their accolades and how they were successful in the United States.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers could not have gotten more out of Ohtani after signing him away from the Los Angeles Angels, to what was then a record-setting $700 million contract, only to be surpassed by Juan Soto ($765 million).

He was an MVP for the third time in four seasons after dominating the National League in home runs (54), RBI (130), on-base percentage (.390), and slugging percentage (.646). He also became the first player in MLB history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season.

The 30-year-old also had some big moments during his first playoff run after six years of missing on it. He had a three-run jack in Game 1 of the NLDS and then posted a ridiculous .364/.548/.636 slash line in the NLCS.

Off the field, Ohtani has significantly raised what was already a sizable profile for the Dodgers. Team CEO Stan Kasten told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that Ohtani “has brought new fans.”

“He’s changed the mix of demographics at our stadium for games,” Kasten said. “We have changed some of the merchandise, changed some of the concession offerings. We have a raft of daily tours [in Japanese] we didn’t have before. We have a raft of new sponsors with Japanese connections we didn’t have before.”

The Dodgers did not have the opportunity to experience the full repatoir of what makes Ohtani a unicorn, since Tommy John surgery made it impossible for the right-hander to step onto the mound. Everyone of his 159 appearances came as a designated hitter.

As stereotypical as it may sounds, the thing that seperates transcendent talents from all the others is their ucanny ability to eventually make the extraordinary look ordinary. In Ohtani’s case, he continues to invent new ways to keep baseball fans clammering for more.