The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani was the unanimous winner of the MVP in the AL. The only question for his award was whether the vote would be unanimous or not. He was one of the best DH’s and simultaneously one of the best pitchers in the game, giving all baseball fans the kind of show we only dreamed of when he was still in the Japanese league.
Vladimir Guerrero challenged for a triple crown but ultimately couldn’t challenge Ohtani. The other finalist, Marcus Semien, like the AL Cy Young winner—Robbie Ray, heads into free agency from the Blue Jays.
Bryce Harper won the NL award, his second, after hitting .309 with 35 homers. It was a very good season, but not as outstanding as some winners in the past…or as that of the AL’s second place vote getter this year. The other two finalists for the NL—Fernando Tatis Jr of the Padres and Juan Soto of the Nationals—both battled through injuries and might have won otherwise.
One interesting thing—this was the first time since 1987 that both winners played for teams that did not make the playoffs. In fact, none of the finalists were on playoff teams.
Fan Interference 