Shohei Ohtani beats Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic to win AP Male Athlete of the Year… $700m Dodgers star tops poll for the second time in three years
- Shohei Ohtani has put together another season of unparalleled brilliance
- Ohtani received twenty votes, while Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic received sixteen each
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Shohei Ohtani has been named AP Male Athlete of the Year. He defeated Lionel Messi and Novak Djokovic to claim the prize for the second time in three years.
The baseball star received 20 of 87 votes, while Inter Miami star Messi and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic earned 16 each. 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, penning a $700 million deal with the LA Dodgers.
But even before them, he delivered another season of unparalleled brilliance for the Los Angeles Angels and for the Japanese team in the World Baseball Classic.
“Shohei may be the most talented player to ever play this game,” Dodgers chief Andrew Friedman claimed after signing Ohtani to a 10-year contract.
Shohei Ohtani was named AP Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years
The baseball star received 20 of the 87 votes, while Inter Miami star Lionel Messi earned 16
Ohtani has now joined an impressive list of two-time winners of the prize, which was first awarded 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 turned decades of conventional wisdom on its head during his six years in the major leagues, even surpassing many of Babe Ruth's achievements while playing in an infinitely more difficult era.
This year started with Ohtani's dazzling MVP performance for the Japanese championship team in the World Baseball Classic – complete with a decisive 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 injuring his throwing elbow in August.
Novak Djokovic was defeated by Ohtani despite winning three more Grand Slams in 2023
Ohtani led the AL with 44 home runs, 78 extra-base hits, 325 total bases and a 1.066 OPS as a design hitter.
He also held hitters to an AL-best batting average of .184 while ranking second in the league with 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings and third with a 3.14 ERA at the time of his injury.
“There's nobody like him, and there's nothing you would say he can't do,” former Angels manager Phil Nevin said late in the season. 'Everything is possible with Sho. I don't know who else you could say that about in baseball history.”
Messi, meanwhile, led Inter Miami to Leagues Cup glory after moving to the United States, while Djokovic was one Wimbledon win away from completing the year's Grand Slam.