Up till Freddie Freeman squeezed Mookie Betts’ throw to finish Sport 7 of the World Sequence, the Dodgers’ probabilities for a repeat have been a supply of monumental suspense.
There was no such sense of doubt earlier than the information got here down Monday that Shohei Ohtani is one in every of three finalists for the Nationwide League Most Useful Participant Award, together with the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber and the Mets’ Juan Soto. Not solely that, however Ohtani is taken into account a powerful favourite for the award, after a season during which he posted a 1.014 OPS and hit 55 dwelling runs on the plate. He additionally returned to the mound for the primary time since 2023 and delivered a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings over 14 begins.
We gained’t know the ultimate outcomes of the BBWAA voting for sure till the MVP Awards are introduced dwell on MLB Community, starting at 4 p.m. PT on Nov. 13. However for now, we are able to look forward and preview among the historical past Ohtani would make if he hears his identify referred to as once more that evening.
Listed here are 5 methods Ohtani’s newest MVP Award can be a major achievement.
1) 4 whole MVP AwardsOhtani is already in choose firm in terms of essentially the most profession MVP wins. He took AL MVP honors with the Angels in 2021 and 2023, then earned NL honors for the primary time after final season, his first with the Dodgers. That makes Ohtani, at current, one in every of 11 gamers with precisely three MVP trophies. Of the opposite 10, seven are within the Corridor of Fame, one other is headed there quickly (former Ohtani teammate Albert Pujols), and yet one more continues to be energetic (one other former Ohtani teammate, Mike Trout). The ultimate identify on the listing is Alex Rodriguez.
If Ohtani wins his fourth, he would pull forward of that group, as simply the second participant in historical past with at the very least 4 MVP wins. Solely Barry Bonds (seven) has greater than that.
2) Third straight MVP AwardWe’ve already established that Ohtani is one in every of simply 12 gamers to win at the very least three whole MVP Awards, so it must be no shock that successful three in a row is extraordinarily uncommon. In truth, Bonds is the one one to do it, having gained 4 straight with the Giants from 2001-04. Ohtani is presently one in every of 13 gamers — not counting a distinct Bonds streak (1992-93) — to win precisely two straight because the BBWAA started handing out MVPs in 1931. However none aside from Bonds ever made it three. The latest participant to come back shut was Pujols, who completed second to Joey Votto within the 2010 NL race after successful in each 2008 and ‘09. Can Ohtani recover from that hump?
3) Again-to-back champ + MVPSo successful consecutive MVP Awards is uncommon. However what about doing it on the similar time you additionally win consecutive World Sequence titles? That’s almost unprecedented. Amongst that aforementioned listing of back-to-back MVPs, solely Joe Morgan of the 1975-76 Reds has pulled off that feat, which Ohtani could possibly be on the verge of matching. Ohtani is already one in every of six gamers (together with Morgan, Mike Schmidt, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and Hal Newhouser) to even win one World Sequence title that overlapped with back-to-back MVP seasons.
And whereas we’re as regards to the Dodgers’ postseason success, there’s additionally this: Ohtani was named MVP of this 12 months’s NLCS towards the Brewers. If he provides the 2025 NL MVP Award to that accomplishment, he’d be solely the seventh participant — and first since 2010 (Texas’ Josh Hamilton) — to assert an LCS or World Sequence MVP Award in the identical 12 months as a daily season MVP. The listing already consists of one Dodger: Sandy Koufax, who was the NL and World Sequence MVP in 1963.
4) Two MVP Awards as a DodgerYou gained’t be shocked to know {that a} franchise with as lengthy and proud a historical past because the Dodgers just isn’t precisely hurting for MVPs. With 13 wins, they’re tied with the rival Giants for the third most, behind solely the Yankees (22) and Cardinals (18). Curiously, although, these awards have been unfold out throughout 10 completely different gamers. Because the crew moved to Los Angeles, its seven MVP trophies have been claimed by seven completely different gamers, Ohtani included. Legendary catcher Roy Campanella — who gained with Brooklyn in 1951, ‘53 and ‘55 — is the one participant to win a number of instances in a Dodgers uniform.
Not solely would Ohtani be a part of Campanella in that choose group, however he additionally would turn into solely the second participant in historical past to win back-to-back MVP Awards in his first two seasons with a franchise. The opposite was Maris, who was AL MVP in 1960 and ‘61 after the Yankees acquired him in a commerce with the Kansas Metropolis Athletics in December 1959.
5) Third MVP Award as a (part-time) pitcherBefore we go any additional, let’s state it plainly: Ohtani defies comparability to some other participant in Main League historical past, together with Babe Ruth. With that mentioned … if he wins his fourth MVP subsequent week, it additionally can be his third earned after a season during which he was a two-way participant. (Final 12 months’s got here as a full-time DH whereas he was recovering from elbow surgical procedure.) Whereas Ohtani clearly isn’t an MVP candidate on the power of his pitching alone, that’s a part of his case.
That’s notable, within the context of latest MVP Awards. Within the 28 years previous to Ohtani’s first MVP win (1993-2020), there have been 56 particular person MVP seasons, and solely two of these have been put collectively by gamers who pitched (Justin Verlander in 2011 and Clayton Kershaw in 2014). Ought to Ohtani win in 2025, he would go that whole on his personal.
