Los Angeles Angels Ohtani Shohei (29) is fighting well at the beginning of the season. Ahead of his free agency, Ohtani continues to raise his share price. He won the American League MVP and Cy Young Award at the same time, and is expected to be able to sign for more money.
On the 22nd (Korean time), Ohtani started against the Kansas City Royals in the ‘2023 Major League Baseball’ held at Angel Stadium in Anahein, California, USA, recording 7 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 11 strikeouts and no runs. He led the Angels to a 2-0 victory with a quality start plus (pitching less than 3 earned runs in 7 starting innings). Ohtani picked up 3 wins of the season.
Ohtani showed off his overwhelming performance. His earned run average dropped to 0.64, ranking first among all pitchers in the major leagues. His strikeouts (38) and batting average (0.092) also ranked first. After the match, Ohtani was interviewed by the local media. He said, “It is still too early to answer” the question about the Cy Young Award, but it is true that he is showing the most overwhelming performance among major league pitchers. 스포츠토토
Ohtani has yet to win a Cy Young Award. On the other hand, there is a history of MVP awards. In 2021, as a pitcher, he recorded an average ERA of 9-2 and 3.18 as a pitcher, and as a hitter, he scored 46 homers, 100 RBIs and 106 runs, and was unanimously named the American League MVP.
If he continues his all-time performance, Ohtani can win the Cy Young Award and MVP at the same time. If that happens, he becomes the 12th player in major league history to win the Cy Young Award and MVP. MLB.com, the official homepage of the major leagues, also predicted the leading winners in each category before the opening, predicting that Ohtani would win the Cy Young Award and MVP.
After this season, Ohtani will be eligible for free agency. Since last winter, various speculations have been made about Ohtani’s destination. The size of the contract also attracted great attention. If Ohtani holds both the Cy Young Award and the MVP, he could sign for a bigger amount.
On the other hand, this season, Ohtani pitched in 5 games and recorded 3 wins and an ERA of 0.64. As a hitter, he recorded 19 hits in 71 at-bats, 4 home runs, 11 RBIs, a batting average of 0.268, a slugging percentage of 0.465, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.823.