Shohei Ohtani was named the winner of the 2024 National League Hank Aaron Award, which is given annually to the best overall hitter in each league.
It is the second consecutive season Ohtani has won the award and second time in his career after taking home the American League honors for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023.
He is the first player in Major League Baseball history to win the Hank Aaron Award in both leagues and joins Alex Rodríguez, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Christian Yelich and Aaron Judge to win the award multiple times.
Ohtani is the first Los Angeles Dodgers hitter to win the award since Matt Kemp in 2011 and the second overall since the creation of the honor in 1999.
Ohtani put on an offensive performance never before seen, becoming the first member of the 50/50 club after setting career highs in home runs and stolen bases with 54 and 59, respectively.
He was not only the second-best base stealer in the Majors behind Elly De La Cruz, but Ohtani was extremely efficient as well after only being caught stealing four times.
The left-handed slugger finished the year hitting .310/.390/.646 with 38 doubles, seven triples, 54 home runs, 134 runs scored, 130 runs batted in and a 181 wRC+.
Ohtani set career highs in just about every single offensive category, with the exception of coming in slightly below his 2023 totals for on-base percentage and slugging percentage due to 139 more at-bats in 2024.
Ohtani led the National League in runs, homers, RBIs slugging, on-base plus slugging (1.036) and total bases (411). It was his second consecutive season with an OPS of more than 1.000.
Earlier in the year, he surpassed Hideki Matsui for the most home runs ever by a Japanese-born player in the majors with his 176th career homer in April and surpassed 200 against the Detroit Tigers in June.
He also went on to become the all-time home run leader by Asian-born players when he slugged the 219th of his career, surpassing Shin Soo-Choo, who was born in Busan, South Korea.
The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th Anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years. A panel of Hall of Famers determines the winners of the Hank Aaron Award, along with a fan vote.
Shohei Ohtani awards in 2024
Earlier this week, Ohtani beat out Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves for his third Silver Slugger Award, and first with the Dodgers in the National League after collecting two with the Angels in the American League.
He was also named the NL Outstanding Player as part of the 2024 Players Choice Awards and he took home the Sporting News MLB Player of the Year honors.
Ohtani was named the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award winner earlier, and he is a finalist for the NL MVP Award, which he is likely to win.
He was additionally named to the All-MLB First Team as the NL’s DH.
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