Cody Snavely
It is officially award season, and earlier tonight, Major League Baseball announced the finalists for the Manager of the Year, Cy Young, and the Most Valuable Player Award.
Out of the three awards that received nominations, the Los Angeles Dodgers only have one representative: two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who, in his first year as a Dodger, was nominated for the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Ohtani, 30, was exclusively a designated hitter this season due to having his second career Tommy John Surgery late last season.
Despite this, Ohtani is the overwhelming favorite to win the award, becoming not only the first designated hitter to win the award but also the first Major League player to win the award in both the American and National Leagues since Frank Robinson, who won the NL MVP in 1961 with the Cincinnati Reds and the AL MVP in 1966 with the Baltimore Orioles.
With Ohtani not on the mound, he was set to wreak havoc on the base paths, setting a career-high in stolen bases with fifty-nine and also setting a career-high in home runs with fifty-four, becoming the first Major Leaguer to join the 50/50 club.
Overall, Ohtani set the standard in the National League with a .310/.390/.646 slash line while leading the National League in runs (134), home runs (54), RBI (130), OBP (.390), SLG (.646), and OPS (1.036).
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (.273/.344/.500, .844 OPS) and Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (.292/.372/.560) were also nominated for the National League Most Valuable Player Award. The winners will be announced on Thursday, November 21st, on MLB Network.
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