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Ranking the three best Shohei Ohtani moments of his MVP season

So many good moments to choose from.

By Zachary Rotman |
Jul 27, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Angels catcher Chad Wallach (35) and starting
Jul 27, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Los Angeles Angels catcher Chad Wallach (35) and starting / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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Shohei Ohtani won his second AL MVP award in the last three seasons after a dominant showing in the 2023 season for the Los Angeles Angels on the mound and at the plate. While his Angels failed to put together a winning season once again, Ohtani had what wound up being his best season in an Angels uniform even with it being cut short due to injury.

Ohtani won the award unanimously for the second time, becoming the first player in MLB history to do that. He continues to set records for all of his accomplishments as a hitter and as a pitcher. Shohei's 2023 season will perhaps be remembered more for his free agency than his team's performance, but there are so many memorable individual Ohtani performances that Angels fans will never forget. Here are the three best.

3) Best Shohei Ohtani moments: His dominance vs. the White Sox (6/27/23)

Throughout his career, Ohtani has obviously tormented most teams, but the damage he's done against the White Sox has been far greater than against most others. That trend was a thing entering the season, and it continued in a big way in 2023.

The Angels hosted the White Sox for a four-game series to wrap up the month of June at a time when the Angels were trying to rack up wins against inferior opponents before a grueling second half schedule.

Ohtani hit a homer in the first game of the series, and was the starting pitcher for Game 2 while also batting second. On the mound, he turned in one of his best performances of the season, delivering 6.1 dominant innings allowing one run with ten strikeouts. Ohtani leaving a start mid-inning is extremely rare, and occurred because he had a cracked fingernail.

Ohtani leaving the game early was so disappointing not only because of how dominant he was on the mound, but he had two hits in two at-bats including a first inning home run and a walk. Angels fans wanted to continue to watch him hit and assumed since he left with nail issues he wasn't going to.

To the surprise of most, Ohtani took his at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning and, of course, went yard to extend the Angels lead. He might not have been able to pitch, but he sure could hit. Ohtani had three hits in three at-bats including two home runs and a walk in addition to his dominance on the mound. It was one of, if not the best game of his MLB career.

2) Best Shohei Ohtani moments: Takedown of the World Series champions (6/15/23)

The Angels headed to Arlington for what felt like a massive four-game series in mid-June. The Angels had done well against the bad teams but struggled against the good ones. Texas was one of, if not the best team in the AL for much of the first half and the Angels were looking to prove that they could compete with them.

This series wound up being the Angels best moment as a team as they took three of four on the road from the eventual champs. Several of their players really impressed on a big stage, but none shined brighter than Shohei Ohtani.

Shohei's first three games of the series were dominant. He had six hits in ten at-bats including three home runs and six RBI. Additionally, Ohtani had drawn five walks in those first three games in which the Angels won two. As fun as those three games were, Ohtani had a lot on his plate still to help the Angels win the series.

Ohtani was tasked with starting the finale of the series against Rangers ace Nathan Eovaldi. Oh the mound, Ohtani was as good if not better than Texas' right-hander, delivering six innings of two run ball despite not having his dominant stuff. Ohtani only struck out three, but willed his way through the stacked Rangers order. It was a fairly quiet night for Ohtani at the dish before he came up against Rangers left-hander Brock Burke in the top of the eighth.

With the Angels ahead 3-2, Ohtani went deep yet again, homering to the opposite field to give the Halos a much-needed insurance run. He delivered a quality start, reached base in three of his four plate appearances, and hit a mammoth home run to help ice the series. It was a huge momentum-shifting series win for this Angels team at the time and it couldn't have happened without Ohtani.

1) Best Shohei Ohtani moments: The historic doubleheader (7/27/23)

By the time the trade deadline was approaching, the Angels had a crucial decision to make. They had to decide whether they should buy and go all-in on a playoff chase in their final guaranteed year of Ohtani, or sell which would include shipping Ohtani away at the deadline. The Angels wound up deciding to buy, declaring their intent right before a doubleheader the Angels were set to play in Detroit.

As a guy who has been very public about wanting to win, the news must have been exhilerating to hear from Shohei as he put together the best day not only of this season, but of his MLB career.

It started on the mound where Ohtani was simply unhittable. He allowed one hit, a single, in the bottom of the fifth. Other than that, the Tigers could not do anything against him.

Ohtani delivered a complete game one-hit shutout in Detroit. He walked three and struck out eight in the Angels victory. He might've gone hitless at the plate, but he was saving all of his offense for Game 2.

A pitcher starting the second Game of a doubleheader at DH after delivering a 111-pitch shutout is pretty unheard of, but everything Ohtani does is special. Ohtani smacked not one, but two home runs in the night cap leading the Angels to a sweep. A one-hit shutout and two home runs on the same day is virtually impossible to top.

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