Was there ever any doubt?
At some point, there just aren't enough words to describe how incredible the 2021 season was for Angels' two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani. There is no historic comparison in baseball — and the closest is Babe Ruth.
So it was no surprise that when Frank Thomas announced the AL MVP winner Thursday night that not only would it be Ohtani, but it would be by unanimous vote.
MORE: Sporting News 2021 MLB awards, as voted on by players
The unanimous win made him just the 19th player in the history of the Baseball Writers' Association of America's MVP award to receive all the first-place votes. Here's a full list of the company he joins.
| Year | Player | Team | League | Position |
| 1935 | Hank Greenberg | Tigers | AL | 1B |
| 1936 | Carl Hubbell | Giants | NL | LHP |
| 1953 | Al Rosen | Indians | AL | 3B |
| 1956 | Mickey Mantle | Yankees | AL | OF |
| 1966 | Frank Robinson | Orioles | AL | OF |
| 1967 | Orlando Cepeda | Cardinals | NL | 1B |
| 1968 | Denny McLain | Tigers | AL | RHP |
| 1973 | Reggie Jackson | Athletics | AL | OF |
| 1980 | Mike Schmidt | Phillies | NL | 3B |
| 1988 | Jose Canseco | Athletics | AL | OF |
| 1993 | Frank Thomas | White Sox | AL | 1B |
| 1994 | Jeff Bagwell | Astros | NL | 1B |
| 1996 | Ken Caminiti | Padres | NL | 3B |
| 1997 | Ken Griffey Jr. | Mariners | AL | OF |
| 2002 | Barry Bonds | Giants | NL | OF |
| 2009 | Albert Pujols | Cardinals | NL | 1B |
| 2014 | Mike Trout | Angels | AL | OF |
| 2015 | Bryce Harper | Nationals | NL | OF |
| 2021 | Shohei Ohtani | Angels | AL | DH/RHP |
MORE: Shohei Ohtani winning AL MVP cost sportsbook more than $1 million
And if that wasn't enough history, Ohtani also became only the 29th player to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year. Among that group, he is only the seventh to be unanimously named MVP and win Rookie of the Year.
| Player | Rookie of the Year | MVP |
| Jackie Robinson | 1947 | 1949 |
| Don Newcombe | 1949 | 1956 |
| Willie Mays | 1951 | 1954, 1965 |
| Frank Robinson | 1956 | 1961, 1966 |
| Orlando Cepeda | 1958 | 1967 |
| Willie McCovey | 1959 | 1969 |
| Pete Rose | 1963 | 1973 |
| Dick Allen | 1964 | 1972 |
| Rod Carew | 1967 | 1977 |
| Johnny Bench | 1968 | 1970, 1972 |
| Thurman Munson | 1970 | 1976 |
| Fred Lynn | 1975 | 1975 |
| Andre Dawson | 1977 | 1987 |
| Cal Ripken | 1982 | 1983, 1991 |
| Jose Canseco | 1986 | 1988 |
| Jeff Bagwell | 1991 | 1994 |
| Albert Pujols | 2001 | 2005, 2008, 2009 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 2001 | 2001 |
| Ryan Howard | 2005 | 2006 |
| Justin Verlander | 2006 | 2011 |
| Ryan Braun | 2007 | 2011 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 2007 | 2008 |
| Buster Posey | 2010 | 2012 |
| Bryce Harper | 2012 | 2015, 2021 |
| Mike Trout | 2012 | 2014, 2016, 2019 |
| Jose Abreu | 2014 | 2020 |
| Kris Bryant | 2015 | 2016 |
| Cody Bellinger | 2017 | 2019 |
| Shohei Ohtani | 2018 | 2021 |
MORE: MLB 2021 awards finalists, winners
Ohtani joining historic company with the award is a fitting cap to an unprecedented campaign. He was third in the American League with 46 home runs and finished the season with a .257/.372/.592 slash line and he was fifth in the AL with 26 stolen bases.
On the mound, he pitched 130 1/3 innings in 23 starts with a 3.18 ERA, 29.3 percent strikeout rate and 8.3 percent walk rate. He is the only player in MLB history to tally at least 30 home runs and 30 strikeouts in a season, and he finished with 156 strikeouts.