Los Angeles Dodgers SP/DH Shohei Ohtani won his second straight NL MVP on Thursday, earning a unanimous vote that was never in question. Not coincidentally, the MVP win coincided with the Dodgers’ second consecutive World Series victory.
Of course, these aren’t Ohtani’s first MVP awards. As a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani was a two-time AL MVP. That included a unanimous AL MVP win during his final year in Anaheim in 2023.
As The Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernández writes, though, those AL MVPS were the equivalent of training wheels, since not a single one came during a year where the Angels made the postseason.
Hernández claimed that Ohtani being on the Dodgers, not the Angels, is good for the MLB, since the ratings were up for the seven-game 2025 World Series between LAD and the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Ohtani had comparable seasons with the Angels, with whom he won his first two MVP awards. In retrospect, however, the six years he played in Anaheim almost feel as if they were an apprenticeship to prepare him for what he’s doing now. The Dodgers have provided him with a stage worthy of his singular act,” Hernández wrote.
“This is what’s best for any league in any sport, for its signature athlete to be playing games that matter for one of its signature franchises. Baseball is now a regional sport, meaning teams and players are well known in the markets in which they play but not outside of them. Ohtani provides baseball with a national presence, especially now that he’s playing in October.”
History will not look kindly at the era of MLB baseball where A., the Angels were called the “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,” and B., Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Albert Pujols were all on the same team and didn’t make the playoffs.
Three of the greatest hitters ever in one lineup, even if Pujols was on the decline by the time Ohtani arrived. Baseball malpractice.
The Dodgers have solidified the Angels as “little brother,” with the LA Times likening the latter to the minor leagues and the former to the majors.