By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer
Shohei Ohtani likes winning Most Valuable Player awards. He loves winning the World Series even more.
The two-way Japanese star did both for a second season in a row for the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning his fourth career MVP on Thursday night while unanimously earning the National League honor. He’s just the second to win four MVPs after Barry Bonds with seven and the only player to win unanimously more than once.
Considering Ohtani is 31, overtaking Bonds doesn’t seem out of the question. Especially if it leads to more Fall Classic opportunities.
“If I’m playing well as an individual that means I’m helping the team win, so in that sense, hopefully I can end up with a couple more MVPs,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning games.”
In the American League, Aaron Judge became the New York Yankees’ fourth three-time winner, edging Seattle’s Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The vote was the closest for an MVP since the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout topped Houston’s Alex Bregman by 17-13 in 2019.
Judge, who won the AL award in 2022 and 2024, joined Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs with the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the majors with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers.
When asked about his place in MLB and Yankees lore, Judge acknowledged he’s in rare company.
“It’s tough for me to wrap my head around,” Judge said. “It’s mind blowing from my side of things, because I play this game to win, I play this game for my teammates, my family, all the fans in New York.”
Later he added: “You’ve got to pinch yourself every single day. It’s truly an incredible honor.”
Ohtani won a MVP for the third straight year, his second in the NL with the Dodgers after two in the AL with the Angels. He became the first to win in each league twice after getting the AL honor in 2021 and 2023. Ohtani signed with the crosstown Dodgers the following offseason and won NL MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He’s also won the World Series in both his seasons with the Dodgers.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second in the NL with 23 second-place votes and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto was third with four.
Ohtani hit .282 and led the NL with a 1.014 OPS. He also had 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
The right-hander returned to pitching in June after missing 1 1/2 seasons on the mound because of an elbow injury. He struck out 62 batters over 47 innings, slowly increasing his workload while preparing for the postseason.
Ohtani continued to shine in October with arguably the greatest single game in MLB history. He hit three homers while striking out 10 over six dominant innings on Oct. 17, leading the Dodgers over Milwaukee to finish an NL Championship Series sweep.
Schwarber, who earned a $50,000 bonus for finishing second, hit an NL-best 56 homers and led the big leagues with 132 RBIs for Philadelphia.
Soto overcame a slow start to the season to have his typically stellar offensive output. The four-time All-Star — who signed a $765 million, 15-year deal last December — had 43 homers, 105 RBIs and an NL-best 38 stolen bases. He received a $150,000 bonus for finishing third in the MVP voting.
Judge is the first AL player to win back-to-back MVPs since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera it in 2012 and 2013.
Raleigh, nicknamed “Big Dumper,” led the big leagues with 60 homers, the most for a player primarily a catcher. He started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at designated hitter.
The 28-year-old also had a career-high 125 RBIs, leading the Mariners to one of their best seasons in franchise history. Judge said he got to know Raleigh a little during the All-Star break and the catcher asked for some leadership tips.
“Cal’s a special player,” Judge said. “I could sit here and talk all night about the player he is, but really the kind of leader and person he is really stuck out to me at the All-Star Game.”
Cleveland’s José Ramírez finished third in the AL.
Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo was fourth in the NL voting, earning him $2.5 million annual salary increases in 2028 and 2029 along with the price of Arizona’s 2030 club option.
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