Shohei Ohtani was named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time and second consecutive season winning the award with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani’s four AP wins tie him with Lance Armstrong, LeBron James and Tiger Woods for most among male honorees.
Previously honored in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels and now the last two years, Ohtani is one of four Dodgers to win the award, joining Maury Wills (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965 – the only other MLB multiple winner) and Orel Hershiser (1988).
This award marks the latest 2025 honor for Ohtani, to go with his fourth MVP Award and his third consecutive Hank Aaron Award, honoring the top hitter in the league. Ohtani also won his fourth Silver Slugger (2021, 2023-2025) and fifth straight Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter award (2021-2025).
Ohtani finished his second season with the Dodgers slashing .282/.392/.622 with 55 home runs and 102 RBI. He broke the Dodgers’ record for homers in a season, passing his mark of 54 in 2024. Ohtani set a new franchise record with 146 runs scored and he led the National League in slugging percentage (.622), on-base plus slugging (1.014), total bases (380) and runs.
He won the National League Player of the Month honor in May (sixth of his career) after hitting .309 (34-for-110) with five doubles, one triple, 15 homers, 17 walks, 31 runs scored, a .398 on-base percentage and .782 slugging in 27 games.
On the mound, Ohtani made 14 starts this past season, going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings. He posted a 145 ERA+ with a 1.043 WHIP and finished the season tossing 16.2 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts against eight hits and four walks.
In the postseason, Ohtani finished his historic campaign by tying the franchise record with eight postseason homers in a season, joining Corey Seager, who clubbed eight homers in 2020.
He is widely considered to have had the greatest playoff game of all-time, hitting three homers and striking out 10 batters in six shutout innings as the Dodgers clinched the NL pennant, with Ohtani named NLCS MVP. The eight-time All-MLB selection and five-time All-Star also reached base nine times with two homers, two doubles and five walks (four intentional) in the Dodgers’ 18-inning World Series Game 3 triumph.
Ohtani has 11 postseason homers, which is tied for fourth all-time in franchise history with Kiké Hernández and Duke Snider, trailing only Max Muncy (16), Seager (13) and Justin Turner (13). Ohtani had three multi-homer games this past October.
Shohei Ohtani ranked among top postseason performers
Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Freddie Freeman were among the Dodgers players included in MLB Network’s ranking of the top 20 postseason performers of 2025.
Ohtani ranked No. 3 after hitting .265/.405/.691 with three doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 14 RBI in 84 plate appearances across 17 postseason games. As a pitcher, he went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 12.4 strikeouts per nine in 20.1 innings over four starts.
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