The Los Angeles Dodgers could have their first MVP win since 2019 thanks to Shohei Ohtani's continued dominance. Making the occasion even more special is that Ohtani could be the first full-time designated hitter (DH) to win MVP in MLB history. Such is the claim of baseball insider Jon Heyman, who chose Ohtani to win the hardware.
“I do believe Shohei Ohtani is the [NL] MVP at this point,” Heyman said. “Right now, with [Mookie] Betts having missed two months, the other guys having great years being DHs also like Marcell Ozuna. [Therefore], I do believe that Ohtani is the MVP in the National League.”
With about six weeks left to play in the 2024 season, Ohtani is on pace for another massive season, his first with the Dodgers. Although he hasn't pitched this year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, his counting stats and averages are just as stellar as in 2023 when he won AL MVP with the Los Angeles Angels.
If Ohtani were to win another MVP, it would make for all sorts of history. A 2024 NL MVP would be his third MVP win, tying him with former teammate Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mike Schmidt, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio and Jimmie Foxx.
Ohtani would be the only second player to win MVP in both the American League and National League, and Frank Robinson also accomplished the feat (NL: Reds, 1961 & AL: Orioles, 1966). There have been 32 players to win more than one MVP, and only 13 have gone back-to-back. Most recently, Miguel Cabrera won the awards in 2012-13. The last Dodgers MVP was Cody Bellinger in 2019.
Predicting that Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani can win the MLB NL MVP
Ohtani is the heavy favorite to win the NL MVP. There is an argument to be made for Arizona Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte. As of publishing, the 30-year-old already has a career-best 30 home runs to go along with 81 RBI, 129 hits, 81 runs, and a very respectable .298/.369/.561/.930 with a 157 OPS+. In 2019, Marte did finish fourth in MVP voting. Unfortunately, Ohtani's numbers are too overwhelming as he seems to go viral with a huge home runs.
Ohtani leads the NL in several categories like runs (90), HR (37), SLG (.623), OPS (1.007), OPS+ (180) and total bases (287). What's especially astounding is that if it weren't for Aaron Judge's incredible power numbers in 2022, this season could have marked Ohtani winning four straight MVP awards. That would have put him in the baseball pantheon with Barry Bonds, the only player to win four consecutive.
The results of the MVP voting are not announced until after the World Series, so the wait will not end until early November or late October at the earliest.
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