Shohei Ohtani, the two way sensation whose 2021 season at the plate and on the mound drew worldwide attention to the Angels is your AL MVP. The 27 year old was the unanimous selection receiving all 30 first place votes over Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Ohtani posted a ridiculous slash line of .257/.372/.592/.965 for the year. He belted out 46 home runs, to go along with 100RBIs and 103 runs scored. For good measure he also tacked on 26 stolen bases establishing himself as a true 5 tool player at the plate. The Japanese icon became only the 6th player in MLB history to record a season of at least 45HRs & 25SBs, joining Bonds, Soriano, Jones, Walker, and Jose Canseco as the only players to accomplish the feat.
On the mound he went 9-2 with 156Ks in 130.1IP while sporting a sparkling 3.18ERA and 1.09WHIP (all career bests). And at the end of the day, as good as Guerrero and Semien were this season, the reality is that they never took the mound, let alone post an All-Star worthy season on the bump.
On the NL side of things Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper captured his 2nd career MVP award. Harper earned 17 out of a possible 30 first place votes to beat out Soto and Tatis Jr. who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Harper’s .615 slugging percentage led all NL players, and his strong play kept the Phillies in the postseason race down the stretch in the wide open NL East. In a prepared statement Harper wrote: “To be able to win this award again means so much to me personally…I take pride in giving my all every time I’m on the field and playing the game the right way. I have great teammates and an incredible fan base who pushed me all season and helped bring this award back home to the great city of Philadelphia.”
Harper is the 6th member of the Phillies organization to win the MVP award in franchise history.
With the hardware now handed out, attention will now shift to the free agent and trade market as teams begin jockeying for position ahead of the 2022 MLB season.