For the second time in his career, he was unanimously awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) again, but Shohei Ohtani 2023 was evaluated as the “best, but not the best ever.”
Major League Baseball’s official website MLBcom selected 187 MLB MVPs, including this season, on the 18th (Korea time). Ohtani came in 19th among them. Barry Bonds (then-San Francisco Giants), who hit 73 home runs, the most in a season in MLB history in 2001, took the top spot.
“Not all MVP seasons are treated the same,” the media said, explaining, “Some season MVPs are the best only in certain seasons, and some seasons may be selected as the best ever.”
This is the result of a detailed analysis of a total of 187 players since 1931, when the American Baseball Writers Association began winning MVP awards by the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The media said, “We judged this by using various methods, including the contribution to victory over the replacement (WAR), the historical meaning of the league, and the league level of the year in which a particular player was awarded.” 안전놀이터
Of Ohtani this season, he said, “It feels strange to rank Ohtani compared to other seasons. No one has done it like he has,” he said. “I put it behind,” he said.
As a pitcher this season, Ohtani faithfully played the role of the team’s ace with 10 wins, 5 losses, and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.14, while at the plate he had an overwhelming season with a batting average of 0.304, 44 home runs, 95 RBI, and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.066.
Compared to when he won his first AL unanimous MVP award two years ago, he won one more game as a pitcher and performed slightly better in ERA, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Although he had two fewer home runs as a hitter, he played in 23 fewer games and raised his batting average from 20.57 to .304. It was his first .300 batting average since his big league debut. OPS was also better than two years ago (0.964).
There is some truth to the media’s explanation. As a player, durability and contribution to the team are essential evaluation criteria, so not being able to fully play this season could result in a point deduction.
Ohtani suffered an elbow injury at the end of this season and tried to end the season as a batter, but suffered another injury and was ultimately out for the season. In the end, he ended up on the operating table due to elbow problems.
However, the fact that he ranked 14th in the MVP season two years ago, when his performance was worse, seems somewhat unconvincing.
Regarding Ohtani’s 2021, the media said, “It felt impossible to put Ohtani’s season into context because it was literally unprecedented,” adding, “This may seem like a high ranking, but its status is likely to grow as the year progresses.” reported.
Since Ohtani’s record is something that no one can achieve, it means that the value will increase as more candidates accumulate. Therefore, as explained, not only this season (19th place) but also 14th place in 2021 seems like a too low evaluation.
First place went to Bonds, who set a record of 73 home runs and 177 walks in 2001. The media asked, “I think 73 home runs would be enough,” and asked, “Isn’t that enough for you?” This can be interpreted to mean that it is a record that no one can match.
Bonds, who had a batting average of 0.362, 45 home runs, 101 RBI, 129 runs, and a whopping 232 walks, with an on-base percentage of 0.609 and an OPS of 1.421, was ranked third as the 2004 NL MVP. MLB.com explained, “Bonds didn’t play much defense, so he wasn’t first overall.”