He didn’t even have to play the entire season.
Five months were enough for former Los Angeles Angels slugger Shohei Ohtani to show that, if he is healthy, he is an elite hitter in MLB.
He is actually an elite hitter and pitcher, and that makes him a unique player.
He was such an imposing offensive performer that he won, for the third consecutive season, an award that recognizes designated hitters.
“It had to be him. For the third straight year, Shohei Ohtani is the Edgar Martinez Outstanding DH Award winner,” MLB Europe tweeted.
It had to be him.
For the third straight year, Shohei Ohtani is the Edgar Martinez Outstanding DH Award winner pic.twitter.com/7gxFddzgau
— MLB Europe (@MLBEurope) December 1, 2023
There you have it: Ohtani had no competition among DHs and ran away with the Edgar Martinez Outstanding DH award.
He was actually on his way to his finest offensive output in MLB when an oblique strain robbed him of most of September.
Still, he was still able to produce a masterpiece: 44 home runs, 26 doubles, 8 triples, 102 runs, 95 RBI, a .304/.412/.654 line, and a 1.066 OPS in roughly five months of play.
We are running out of adjectives to describe him.
What can you call him, considering he also posted a 3.14 ERA in 132 innings with a 1.06 WHIP and 167 strikeouts as a pitcher?
Special?
Unique?
Otherworldly?
Now, Ohtani is a free agent, perhaps the most prominent in the history of the league.
His next contract is expected to surpass $500 million and can even approach $600 million considering the large number of bidders.
He will be a very rich man, and it will be very much deserved because there is no one like him.
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