LOS ANGELES: Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday unanimously won the 2021 MVP award for Major League Baseball’s American League.

He collected all 30 first-place votes cast by reporters from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, becoming the second Japanese MLB MVP winner, after Ichiro Suzuki, a former Seattle Mariners player, who won the award in 2001.

“I’m very happy,” Ohtani, 27, told a conference call after the MVP announcement. “I was a little surprised to learn that I was picked unanimously.”

He added, “I think that I will see the peak of my career as an athlete in the next five to seven years, so I want to do my best.”

Ohtani also expressed his gratitude to the fans and many others who supported him, including the doctors who did his surgery.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in October 2018, Ohtani played only as a batter in 2019. He returned to the mound in 2020 but made only two pitching appearances that season.

In 2021, his fourth season in MLB, Ohtani shone as both a pitcher and a batter. He hit 46 home runs, the third most in the league, with a batting average of .257, and scored 100 RBIs, 103 runs and 26 stolen bases. As a pitcher, he recorded nine wins and two losses.

He played as the first full-fledged two-way player since baseball legend Babe Ruth in 1918 and 1919.

Ohtani became the first MLB player to win the MVP award unanimously in six years, since outfielder Bryce Harper became the unanimous pick for the National League MVP in 2015 when he was playing for the Washington Nationals.

Appearing remotely on an MLB Network program, Ohtani said, “I certainly wanted to win it (the MVP).”

When he was working to be a two-way player for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan, where Ohtani started his professional baseball career in 2013, he drew mixed reactions, including many critical opinions. His reputation gradually improved after he achieved results.

“Compared with when I started to go two ways in Japan, the atmosphere was more welcoming in the United States,” Ohtani said. “I’m really grateful to the fans across the United States and the team.”

Ohtani was also voted overall Player of the Year by fellow players after the 2021 season and won this year’s AL Silver Slugger Award as top designated hitter.

JIJI Press