Double star Shohei Ohtani won his fourth MVP award in a unanimous vote for the National League award on Thursday, while Aaron Judge won the American League award for the third time.
Ohtani won MVP honors for the third year in a row, finishing second in the National League with Los Angeles Dodgers after two games in the AL with the Los Angeles Angels. All four were unanimous.
Judge became the New York Yankees' fourth three-time winner, finishing ahead of Seattle's Cal Raleigh with 17 first-place votes to 13 for the switch-hitting catcher. The voting was the closest to the MVP award since the Angels' Mike Trout edged Houston's Alex Bregman 17-13 in 2019.
Ohtani became the second player to win at least four MVP awards, behind Barry Bonds only seven.
Ohtani, 31, became the first to win each league twice after earning AL honors in 2021 and 2023. The following offseason, he signed with the Crosstown Dodgers and became the National League MVP in 2024 during his first season in Chavez Ravine. He also won World Series in both seasons with the Dodgers.
Ohtani won all four of his MVP awards unanimously, receiving all 30 first-place votes.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber finished second with 23 second-place votes, and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto was third with four votes.
Ohtani hit .282 and led the NL with an OPS of 1.014. He also had 55 homers, 102 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.
The right-hander returned to pitching in June after missing a season and a half on the mound with an elbow injury. He struck out 62 batters in 47 innings while gradually increasing his workload as he prepared for the postseason.
Ohtani continued to shine in October with Possibly the best single player game in MLB history. He hit three homers at the plate while striking out 10 in six dominant innings on October 17, leading the Dodgers over the Milwaukee Brewers to clinch the National League Championship Series.
Schwarber, who earned a $50,000 second-place bonus, was a finalist for the Phillies after hitting a National League-best 56 homers and leading the major leagues with 132 RBIs. The three-time All-Star played in all 162 games, part of a roster that won 96 games.
Soto overcame a slow start to the season and delivered his typically stellar offensive performance. Four-time All-Star – who signed a 15-year contract worth $765 million. last December – had 43 homers, 105 RBIs and an NL-best 38 stolen bases. He received a $150,000 bonus for finishing third in MVP voting.
Judge, who won AL honors in 2022 and 2024, joins Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle as three-time MVPs for the Yankees. The 33-year-old outfielder led the way with a .331 batting average and 1.144 OPS while hitting 53 homers.
The previous back-to-back AL MVP winner was Detroit's Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and 2013.
“Big Dump Truck” Raleigh led the major leagues with 60 homers, the best for a player primarily a catcher. He started 119 games behind the plate and another 38 at the designated hitter position.
The 28-year-old also had a career-high 125 RBIs, leading the Mariners to one of the best seasons in franchise history.
Jose Ramirez of Cleveland finished third.
Arizona's Geraldo Perdomo finished fourth in National League voting, earning him $2.5 million in annual salary increases in 2028 and 2029, as well as Arizona's club option price in 2030.
