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Shohei Ohtani has been named the AP Male Athlete of the Year – beating Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic to claim the award for the second time in three years.
The baseball star received 20 of the 87 votes, with Inter Miami star Messi and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic earning 16 apiece. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, the NBA Finals MVP, received 12 votes.
Baseball’s two-way superstar recently signed the most lucrative contract in sports history – putting pen to paper on a $700million deal with the LA Dodgers.
But even before them, he put together yet another season of unparalleled brilliance for the Los Angeles Angels and for Japan’s team in the World Baseball Classic.
‘Shohei is arguably the most talented player who’s ever played this game,’ claimed Dodgers chief Andrew Friedman after signing Ohtani to a 10-year contract
Ohtani has now joined an impressive list of two-time winners of the award, which was first handed out in 1931. They include Carl Lewis, Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps and four-time winner Tiger Woods.
In 2022, Ohtani finished second in the voting to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Ohtani has upended decades of conventional wisdom during his six years in the major leagues, surpassing even many of Babe Ruth’s achievements while playing in an infinitely more difficult era.
This year began with Ohtani’s dazzling MVP performance for Japan’s championship team in the World Baseball Classic – complete with a clinching strikeout of Angels teammate Mike Trout.
He then turned in his third consecutive spectacular season both on the mound and at the plate in Anaheim despite an early end after he injured his pitching elbow in August.
