SHOHEI Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Chris Sale, who are expected to receive bigger prizes next week, were among the honorees Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the MLB Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Ohtani, the likely National League Most Valuable Player, received the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award and the NL Hank Aaron Award.
Judge, the New York Yankees outfielder who is the probable AL MVP, captured the AL Hank Aaron Award.
The Hank Aaron Award is given to the best hitter in each league.
Sale, the Atlanta Braves left-hander who is the expected NL Cy Young Award winner, was chosen the NL Comeback Player of the Year.
The AL Comeback Player of the Year award went to Chicago White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet.
Cleveland Guardians right-hander Emmanuel Clase and St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Ryan Helsley were chosen as the AL and NL Reliever of the Year, respectively.
Ohtani, who didn’t pitch in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery, still made plenty of impact from the DH position. He became the first player in major league history to hit 50-plus homers and steal 50-plus bases in the same season, finishing with an NL-leading 54 long balls and 59 thefts.
Ohtani also led the league with 130 RBIs, 134 runs, a .390 on-base percentage and a .646 slugging percentage.
Judge topped the majors in homers (58), RBIs (144), on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.701).
Sale won the pitching Triple Crown by leading the NL with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts after being limited to a total of 31 starts over the prior three seasons due to injuries.
Crochet missed all of the 2022 season and much of 2023 after Tommy John surgery. He rebounded to go 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 146 innings in 32 starts this year.
Clase topped the AL with 47 saves (in 50 chances) and had a spectacular 0.61 ERA and a 4-2 record in 74 games.
Helsley had a major-league-best 49 saves (in 53 opportunities) to go with a 7-4 mark and a 2.04 ERA in 65 appearances.
