Shohei Ohtani wins Baseball Digest Player of the Year
![Shohei Ohtani, LA Angels. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fhalohangout-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2021-2F09-2F16860858-850x560-62c7ed4cff6e6fb2373f726a2feeb5ca.jpg)
LA Angels‘ two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani had a season for the ages. He has picked up his first award in what should be an off-season of many accolades.
Shohei Ohtani is the Baseball Digest and ebay Major League Baseball Player of the Year.
Shohei Ohtani deserves the distinction after accomplishing feats that haven’t been reached in over a century.
At the plate, Shohei Ohtani was a major force with 46 home runs, 100 RBI’s, 26 stolen bases, 8 triples and a .965 OPS.
On the bump, Ohtani was the ace of the LA Angels pitching staff. He started 23 games while winning 9. Ohtani lead the team in striking out 156 opposing batters.
His WHIP of 1.09 was among league leaders and was second among the Angels after Raisel Iglesias.
Ohtani pitched at least six innings in 14 of his starts and had a 3.18 ERA.
He started the 2021 MLB All-Star game for the American League a day after competing in the Home Run Derby contest festivities.
After LA Angels legend Mike Trout went down with a lower leg injury in May, Ohtani effectively carried the club. Despite having a mediocre squad he kept them on the fringes of the divisional pennant for a duration of the summer.
His positive attitude and gamesmanship won fans for himself and the team internationally. Ohtani made the LA Angels a box office and television draw throughout the league.
His jersey sales was in the top 10. He raised the profile of the club and MLB exponentially.
This season has been an unprecedented fun revelation to LA Angels fans. The organization finally had a phenomenal player fall in it’s lap. After so many years of watching other teams get great players, we get another world class talent.
When Trout developed into one of the best all-around players of all-time I thought we had a player that we could watch make history. A player we could tell future generations about.
Now we have two. Let’s hope the front office is able to hang onto Ohtani.
Next. 3 players to fill a need in starting pitching
Let’s also hope everybody can stay healthy and the Angels can get some decent pitching.