Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is on pace to stuff a trophy case and write his name all over the history books during his MLB career. The latest award to enter his collection is the 2021 American League Silver Slugger Award, which he won as a designated hitter. The 27-year-old has already won a Rookie of the Year Award and has one All-Star nomination.
Ohtani became the second Japanese-born player to win the award, following in the footsteps of legendary right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who won the award three times. So long as Ohtani remains healthy, he'll pass that mark easily.
Shohei Ohtani became the first #Angels player to win a Silver Slugger Award at DH. Angels players have won 26 Silver Slugger Awards with Mike Trout leading the way with eight. Ohtani also joined Ichiro as the only Japanese-born players to win a Silver Slugger Award.
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) November 11, 2021
SHOHEI OHTANI. FOREVER A SILVER SLUGGER IN MLB. FOREVER A GOLD SLUGGER IN MY HEART. CONGRATULATIONS
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) November 12, 2021
Los Angeles' latest superstar showed great potential in his first few seasons and put it all together in his first (nearly) full season. Few batters had as good of a season as Ohtani. Across all Major League Baseball hitters, he was first in triples, second in extra-base hits, tied-for-fourth in runs created and fifth in OPS+.
Given that Ohtani ranked so highly among every position, he obviously was among the absolute best at his position. He led all qualified designated hitters in home runs (46, which ranked third in MLB), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.592, which ranked fourth in MLB) and walks (96, which ranked fifth in the MLB). The Angels' star placed second in runs batted in, third in doubles, fourth in hits and fifth in batting average amongst designated hitters.
Ohtani's dominance as a hitter and pitcher gives the most unique, and arguably the strongest, case to win the AL MVP.
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