Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named the first Japanese winner of the Hank Aaron Award on Saturday, recognized as the best offensive performer in the American League.
The 29-year-old led the AL in home runs this season after hitting 44 for the Los Angeles Angels while also batting .304 with 95 RBIs.
Leading all hitters from both leagues with a .654 slugging percentage, Ohtani also had 20 stolen bases and eight triples. According to MLB.com, only Ohtani and Willie Mays in 1955 achieved at least 40 homers, 20 steals, five triples and a .650 slugging percentage in big leagues history.
All 30 teams nominated one player for the honor and a panel of MLB.com writers selected 16 finalists, eight from each league. The winners were chosen by a voting panel made up of Hall of Famers, while a fan vote at MLB.com was also included in the results. Ohtani was a finalist for the third straight year.
It was another postseason prize for Ohtani's cabinet after the new Los Angeles Dodger became the first two-time unanimous league MVP. He also won the Silver Slugger Award as AL's best offensive player at designated hitter among other individual titles.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. won the National League prize after the NL MVP hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases, becoming the first player with a 40-70 season.
Ohtani was also nominated to the All-MLB 1st team, meanwhile, both as a starting pitcher and designated hitter for the first time.
On the mound this season, Ohtani went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 132 innings for the Angels. He made the 1st team for the third year in a row after he was picked in the 2021 team as its DH and in 2022 as a starting pitcher.
