Shohei Ohtani voted major leagues’ top designated hitter for 3rd straight year

NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani was voted the majors’ best designated hitter on Thursday and joined David Ortiz as the only players to win the award three years in a row.

Ohtani won the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award after hitting .304 with an AL-high 44 homers, 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases for the Los Angeles Angels in a season at the plate that ended Sept. 3 because of an oblique injury. The two-way star was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, striking out 167 and walking 55 in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on Aug. 23.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

Ohtani finished ahead of Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna, Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ J.D. Martinez in voting by beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. Players were eligible with 100 or more at-bats as a designated hitter.

The 29-year-old Ohtani became the first two-time unanimous MVP, winning the AL honor in 2021 and this year.

Ohtani and Martinez became free agents after the World Series.

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