New York: Major League Baseball announced Saturday that Japanese star Shohei Ohtani has been chosen as the winner of this year’s Hank Aaron Award for the American League.

He is the first Japanese player to receive the award since it was created in 1999. The award is given to the hitter with the most outstanding performance in each of the American League and the National League.

Ohtani, who played for the Los Angeles Angels this season, hit 44 homers to become the first Japanese MLB player to win the home run title. He had a batting average of .304 and scored 95 RBIs.

He recently moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League.

Hank Aaron Award winners are selected by a vote of fans and former MLB players inducted into the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ohtani, a two-way player, was also selected to the All-MLB First Team as both designated hitter and starting pitcher, according to MLB.

All-MLB First and Second Team winners are chosen across the leagues by a vote of fans and others based on regular-season performances. The honor started in 2019.

JIJI Press