LAS VEGAS — Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. on Saturday won the 2023 Hank Aaron Award, presented by Major League Baseball to the player with the best offensive performance in each league.
The MLB awards are chosen by fan voting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and past honorees, and this year’s group includes Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter and Chipper. – Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, John Smoltz and Robin Yount included Jones, Pedro Martinez and Eddie Murray.
The pair also won the top award in the Baseball Writers Association of America’s poll last month. Ohtani became the first player in history to be unanimously named MVP twice.
Ohtani became a free agent after the season and left the Los Angeles Angels on a 10-year contract worth a record $700 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the season that ended on September 3 due to a torn oblique muscle, he led the AL with 44 home runs, a batting average of .304, 96 RBIs, eight triples, and 20 stolen bases.
The right-handed pitcher started 23 games and had a 10-5 record with a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts and 55 walks in 132 innings before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on August 23. He underwent elbow surgery and won. ” He will pitch next season as well.
Acuña hit 40 home runs and stole 70 bases in a season, becoming the first major leaguer to win the unanimous NL MVP award. Acuña was second in the National League with a batting average of .336 for the Atlanta Braves, and led the majors with 149 RBIs, 217 hits, 386 total bases, and 73 stolen bases, as well as 41 home runs and 106 RBIs.
Each team nominated a candidate for the Aaron Award, and a group of MLB.com writers selected nine finalists from each league. The award was introduced in 1999 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record.