LOS ANGELES – Shohei Ohtani keeps elite company.
The Japanese star wins 2024 by winning the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the third time, tied with basketball champion Michael Jordan. He trails only four-time winners Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and LeBron James.
“I’m very honored,” Ohtani said through interpreter Matt Hidaka in an exclusive interview with the AP. “Obviously all the hard work has paid off. Maybe next year, I’ll get another medal.”
In a poll of 74 AP sports reporters and members, Ohtani received 48 points. He previously won the award in 2023 and 2021, when he was with the Angels.
“I grew up in Japan, I followed Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods,” he said. “I would see their acclaim and how successful they were in the United States.”
AP honors have been given since 1931. Golfer Babe Didrikson won six times, the most by a man or woman.
Swimmer Léon Marchand of France, who won four gold medals at the Paris Olympics, finished second with 10 votes in the poll announced on Monday. Golfer Scottie Scheffler, whose victories this year include the Masters and an Olympic gold medal, finished third out of nine.
The AP Female Athlete of the Year will be announced Tuesday.
From the struggling Los Angeles Angels to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani won his third MVP award and first in the National League, led his new team to its eighth World Series championship and created Major League Baseball’s 50/50 for hitting. 54 runs and 59 stolen bases.
Ohtani signed a then-record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December 2023. Already a two-way star, he further embellished his reputation even though he missed the entire season while rehabbing from a second left elbow surgery. in September 2023.
Ohtani went wild, making every at-bat a must-see moment. The 6-foot-4 designated hitter hit a career-high .310 while easily surpassing his previous career highs in home runs and stolen bases.
In September, he reached the unheard-of 50/50 mark in performance for many years. Against the Miami Marlins in Florida, Ohtani went 6 for 6 with 3 homers, 10 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and 17 total bases.
“It wouldn’t shock me if he wins 60/60 and 20 a year from now,” Brad Ausmus, the Angels’ 2019 manager in Ohtani’s second season in Anaheim, said recently. “This guy is the greatest athlete to ever play the game of baseball and not for one second.”
Ohtani said he knew the Dodgers’ franchise record for most homers in a season was 49. His best players are 46, which he sets in 2021.
“I wanted to pass that bar,” he said. “I was surprised that I was able to pass that record.”
Ohtani carried the Dodgers offensively through the regular season, and stayed healthy until Game 2 of the World Series. He injured his left shoulder trying to steal second base against the New York Yankees and finished the Series off injured.
He had the surgery just days after the Dodgers celebrated their championship in early November.
“I still don’t have full range of motion, but I feel a lot better,” he told the AP. “There is no pain. Obviously there is still a little tightness, but slowly but surely it is getting better.”
Ohtani recently got on a rehab schedule, and is focused on the near term.
“It’s the small steps that I think are the most important to get me to the final goal, which is to come back healthy,” he said.
Ohtani is also throwing at 70 mph, which is typical for pitchers early in the season.
“I will continue to climb a little,” he said.
The Dodgers’ rotation next season is in flux, and Ohtani is waiting to see how it shakes out.
“We may go with an exchange of five people in the bullpen [game]which is something we’ve done a lot this season or we might have a six-man rotation,” he said. We’ll see where that takes us in the race for the playoffs. I’ll have to hold my own, but that situation will tell us how we get there.”
The Dodgers open the 2025 season in Japan, where Ohtani is highly regarded.
“My goal is to be fully fit by the time the opening games begin,” he said. “Being able to throw and hit would be good, but the situation will take care of itself.”
Every time Ohtani comes to the plate or steps on the mound, there is a lot of pressure and expectation for him to do amazing things.
“I just go out and try to stay inside myself,” he said. “I can control what I can control and that’s where you trust your teammates. The guys behind me, you trust them to do it for you. I don’t really try to overthink it.”
Ohtani has produced big bucks for the Dodgers off the field.
Fans traveled in droves from Japan to see him play in the US at Dodger Stadium, and paid extra for a tour of baseball’s third oldest facility with Japanese-speaking guides and to be on the field during pregame warmups. Many fans bought merchandise with Ohtani’s name on it, especially his No. 17 jersey.
Ohtani’s presence also helped the Dodgers get a lot of new Japanese sponsors.
Because Ohtani prefers to speak Japanese and use an interpreter in the media, he is shrouded in a bit of mystique. Asked before his first postgame series if he was nervous, he blurted out a one-word answer in English: “No,” which drew laughs.
Japanese-born Dodgers manager Dave Roberts watched Ohtani interact behind the scenes with his teammates, coaches and staff, and came away impressed.
“I really believe that as good a football player as he is, he’s a better person. He’s very kind, thoughtful, caring,” Roberts told the AP. “I’m proud of any honor or glory or award that he receives because he just does it in such a respectful and humble way.”
Ohtani enjoys his privacy and rarely shares details about himself off the field. That’s why his February announcement on Instagram that he was married to Mamiko Tanaka, a former basketball player, surprised his new colleagues and the world.
The following month, after the Dodgers arrived in South Korea for the season opener, he was embroiled in scandal when his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers after being accused of using millions of dollars in Ohtani’s betting money. and illegal bookie.
His new teammates rallied around Ohtani, who was found to have no complicity in wrongdoing, and in public it didn’t seem to affect him even if he was privately depressed.
By June, the chaos had subsided. Mizuhara pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud charges and admitted stealing an estimated $17 million from Ohtani.
The public got a glimpse of Ohtani’s softer side in August, when his dog Decoy delivered the first pitch to his owner at a bobblehead night they shared. The Nederlandse Kooikerhondje exchanged an adorable high-five with Ohtani at the plate.
Because of this, Decoy became a celebrity in his own right, and his brand (pronounced COY-ker-HUND-che) made the list of best-pronounced names in 2024. He and Ohtani were mentioned during the National Dog broadcast last month. Show, where a small breed of spaniel was among the competitors.
“The brand’s number is down, so by getting a little bit of fame, hopefully that brings his brand’s number up,” Ohtani said. “I feel like we were able, in a small way, to contribute to the dog’s popularity and I’m sure Decoy himself would be happy about that.”
Ohtani will be looking up next year as he looks for a repeat World Series title.
“You can probably close the National League Most Valuable Player award right now because nobody has that skill or talent,” said Roberts.
“I’m excited to see what ’25 has in store for Shohei Ohtani.”
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