Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named among the finalists for the Hank Aaron Award on Monday, which will be presented to the player voted to be the most outstanding regular-season offensive performer from each league.
Ohtani was nominated for the second straight season after batting .273 with 34 home runs and 95 RBIs for the Los Angeles Angels. Each team nominated a player, before a panel of MLB.com writers selected 16 finalists --eight from each league--, out of 30 nominees.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, who set a new American League record of 62 home runs, and Ohtani's teammate Mike Trout who had 40 homers, were also among the AL finalists.
The vote will be held through Oct. 24, with a panel of Hall of Fame players also casting their votes.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America, meanwhile, said this season's MVP for each league will be named on Nov. 17 following votes from its members.
Ohtani is the reigning AL MVP and is set to rival Judge for this season's honor, after becoming the first player in MLB's World Series era to qualify for the leaderboards as both a hitter and a pitcher.
