After exploding for six home runs last week, Shohei Ohtani (29) earned his fifth career American League Player of the Week honor. He tied teammate and 13-year pro Mike Trout (32-plus, Los Angeles Angels) for the honor in his sixth major league season.
“Los Angeles Angels two-hit superstar Ohtani and Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II, 22, have been named American League (AL) and National League (NL) Players of the Week, respectively,” MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, announced today (April 21).
For Ohtani, it’s the first time in two years since April 9, 2018, September 10, 2018, June 21, 2021, and July 5, 2021. Based on his performance alone, it was well-deserved. In seven games last week, Ohtani batted .435 (10-for-23) with six home runs, 12 RBIs, and 10 walks for an OPS of 1.893. On the mound, he picked up the win against the Texas Rangers on April 16 with six innings of two-run ball.안전놀이터
His performance at the plate was equally impressive. Starting with two arches in a single game on the 13th, he hit a whopping four home runs against Texas. He also homered in two straight games against the Kansas City Royals, extending his hitting streak to 15 games after going 0-for-4 against the Houston Astros on March 3. Ohtani’s hot streak has also helped the Angels go 5-2 in that span, improving their record to 41-33 and moving them into second place in the American League West, five games behind first-place Texas.
Shohei Ohtani./AFPBBNews=News1
Shohei Ohtani./AFPBBNews=News1
Five Player of the Week honors in his first six seasons, a feat rarely accomplished without some sort of explosiveness, suggests that Ohtani’s ability to drive in runs is considerable. Even Mike Trout, a three-time AL MVP, only won five Player of the Week awards.
By bombing the opposing mound, Ohtani is on pace for his first triple-double and second MVP of his major league career. Through 20 games, he’s batting .300 with 24 home runs, 58 RBI, 49 runs scored, 10 doubles, a .384 on-base percentage, a .632 slugging percentage, and a 1.016 OPS in 72 games as a hitter, and 6-2 with a 3.29 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 82 innings as a pitcher in 14 games.
Those are solid numbers on the mound, but his performance at the plate alone makes Ohtani a strong MVP candidate. He leads the major leagues in home runs. He leads Pete Alonso (New York Mets) by two and Aaron Judge (New York Yankees-19) by five in the American League. He also leads the majors in slugging percentage (.632) and OPS (1.016).
Meanwhile, Harris II, the reigning National League Player of the Week, batted .556 (15-for-27) with three home runs, nine RBIs, two doubles, and a 1.499 OPS last week. He had a three-hit game on the 13th, a four-hit game on the 15th, and a five-hit game on the 19th. Harris II is the first time a 22-year-old has won the award. Miami’s Jesús Sánchez’s game-saving jumping catch of Eugenio Suárez’s home run against the Seattle Mariners on May 15 was named Play of the Week. If not for Sanchez’s defense, the hit would have been a game-tying, walk-off home run.