Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Player race is officially over with Ronald Acuña Jr. from the Atlanta Braves and Shohei Ohtani from the Los Angeles Angels taking home the awards for their respective leagues.
Both of the winners won in historic fashion. According to MLB.com, for the first time in MLB history, both the National League and American League MVP Award winners were selected unanimously.
“Seeing what both of these players have been able to do this season, it truly is remarkable witnessing history right in front of my own eyes,” said Chase Sammon, a junior management information systems major.
Acuña Jr. capped off a historic season, as he did something that no one has ever done in MLB history. He hit 40 home runs and stole over 70 bases this regular season, making him the first player to ever join the 40/50, 40/60 and 40/70 club.
According to ESPN, he finished the season with a .337 batting average. He also led the league with 217 hits, which is the most by any player in nine years. Additionally, he led the league with 149 runs. While Acuña and the Braves may have had a disappointing playoff run, this did not take away from the remarkable season he was able to have.
“I loved being able to go to Braves games this year and see Acuña put on a show for us every single night,” said Trevor Hands, a senior MIS major.
Ohtani had himself a great season as well, winning his second MVP race unanimously. The star from Japan has continued to impress everyone as he amazes people with both his pitching and hitting ability. Even though he ended his year with a season-ending injury, this did not take away from the strong numbers he was able to produce.
According to CBS Sports, he still led the AL with 44 home runs, a .412 on-base percentage, .654 in slugging, 1.066 in OPS and 325 total bases. The stats are not even done yet, either. On the mound, he finished off the season with a 10-5 record, 3.14 ERA and struck out 167 batters.
“Seeing Ohtani play both ways at the level he did it at is something no one has ever seen before, and there may not be another player like him to play ever again,” Hands said.
With what both players were able to accomplish in their historic seasons, there is no wonder that both ended up winning unanimously. Although Ohtani won a big MVP award, he still is in the middle of free agency. The star player is due for one of the biggest contracts in sports history, and the whole world has their eyes wondering where the reigning MVP will land next.
While both award winners received all first place votes for the award, they did have some tough competition. In the NL, Los Angeles Dodgers stars Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts were in the race against Acuña.
Betts proved to be the toughest competition for Acuña, as he led the Dodgers out of a slump, helping them win 24 games in the month of August. Freeman also helped push this Dodgers squad, as he continued to play at a high level of consistency throughout the season.
Going up against Ohtani were Texas Rangers stars Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. Both Seager and Semien helped lead the Rangers to a World Series win after coming back from a lackluster 68-win season in 2022.
