2023: Second AL MVP

Shohei Ohtani in 2023

See also: 2023 Los Angeles Angels season
Fresh off being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Ohtani made
his second straight Opening Day start for the Angels' 2023 season while batting third in the lineup
against the Oakland Athletics on March 30, 2023.[157]

On May 10, 2023, Ohtani struck out Jeremy Peña of the Houston Astros for his 502nd career
pitching strikeout, passing Babe Ruth on the all-time strikeout list. With the feat, Ohtani also set the
record for most pitching strikeouts by a player with 100 home runs.[158]

Ohtani was named AL Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career after hitting six home runs,
going .435 (10-for-23), 12 RBIs, 10 walks and a 1.893 OPS over seven games from June 12 to June
18, 2023 at the plate and picking up a win as starting pitcher on June 15, 2023, against the Texas
Rangers. At the time, he was leading MLB in homers (24), RBIs (58), and total bases (175) while
slashing .300/.384/.632 .[159] The honor would also tie him with Ichiro Suzuki for the most by a
Japanese-born player.[160]

On June 27, 2023, against the Chicago White Sox, Ohtani struck out 10 batters and hit two home
runs while going 3–3 at bat, becoming the sixth pitcher in major league history to have had at least
10 strikeouts and two home runs in a game.[161]

Ohtani would finish the month of June by winning his sixth career AL Player of the Week award,
surpassing Ichiro Suzuki for the most by a Japanese-born player, after hitting six home runs with a
1.783 OPS over a seven-day span from June 26 to July 2, 2023, including a career-long 493-foot
home run, the longest homer in the 2023 MLB season;[162] as well as winning his third career
American League Player of the Month for June.[163] His performance in June has been considered to
be the best June in MLB history, as over 126 plate appearances, he batted .394 and led the major
leagues in on-base percentage (.492), slugging percentage (.952), OPS (1.444), home runs (15),
RBIs (29), extra-base hits (25) and total bases (99). He also threw 30⅓ sterling innings, with a 3.26
ERA, 37 strikeouts, and an opponent slash line of .228/.302/.368 as a starting pitcher. [164][165]

3rd All-Star
Ohtani earned an automatic spot on the 2023 All-Star roster after being the leading vote-getter in
the American League All-Star ballot during Phase 1 of fan voting, received 2,646,307 votes as the
starter in the DH position.[166] On July 2, 2023, Ohtani was also elected as an All-Star pitcher for
the American League, making it the third straight year Ohtani was named an All-Star as both a
pitcher and a DH.[167] At the time, Ohtani was hitting .306/.390/.670 with 31 homers, 15 doubles, five
triples, 11 stolen bases and 68 RBIs in 84 games and in 16 starts on the mound, was 7-3 with a 3.02
ERA and 127 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings. He was leading the majors in homers (31), total bases
(217), extra-base hits (51), slugging percentage and OPS (1.060). As a pitcher, he was first in
opponent batting average against (.180) and third in strikeouts. He would enter the All-Star Game
with 30+ homers for the second time in his career, having hit 33 previously in 2021. Like 2022,
Ohtani opted to participate only as a hitter in the All-Star Game and not pitch due to a blister. [168]

On July 27, Ohtani pitched a complete-game shutout during game one of a doubleheader against
the Detroit Tigers, recording his first complete game (and shutout) of his MLB career. He struck out
eight batters and walked three, allowing just one single. He later went on to hit two home runs during
game two.[169]

For July, Ohtani earned his seventh career AL Player of the Week award[170] and fourth career
American League Player of the Month.[171]

Ohtani recorded his second career grand slam and his 43rd home run in a loss against the Tampa
Bay Rays on August 19, 2023.[172]Coincidentally, he had recorded his first career grand slam the year
before, also against the Rays.[142]

On August 23, Ohtani hit his 44th home run of the 2023 season but was removed from his start
against the Cincinnati Reds after 1⅓ inning after experiencing what was initially reported as arm
fatigue. It was later revealed that Ohtani would not pitch for the rest of the 2023 season and the
2024 season after suffering a ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow. He finished his 2023
season on the mound with a 10–5 record, posting a 3.14 ERA and striking out 167 batters. [173] On
September 16, Ohtani was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an oblique strain.
He received elbow surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on September 19, 2023, to address the
UCL tear in his right elbow.[174]

In 135 games as a hitter, he batted .304/.412/.654 with 44 home runs, 95 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.
[175]
Ohtani would end the 2023 regular season as the first Japanese-born player to lead a U.S. major
league in home runs, capturing the American League title with 44 home runs.[11] He would also finish
the 2023 season with the most popular player jersey in MLB,[13] having previously appeared in the top
10 in 2018 and 2021. It would also mark the first season that Ohtani finished atop the league-wide
rankings in jersey sales and the first time that a Japanese player had reached number one. [13]

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Ohtani led the league with a wins above replacement (WAR)
value of 10.1, slugging percentage (.654), OPS (1.066), adjusted OPS+ (184), offensive win
percentage (.810), and finished second in on-base percentage (.416), fourth in home runs (44), ninth
in batting average (.304), fifth in triples (eight), second in intentional walks (21), second in adjusted
batting wins (5.8), second in adjusted batting runs (60), fifth in extra-base hits (78), fifth in runs
created (138), and tenth in walks (91).[117]

For the second time in his career, Ohtani was unanimously voted the 2023 American League Most
Valuable Player, becoming the first player in MLB history to win MVP by unanimous vote twice.
 Ohtani was also named to the 2023 All-MLB Team, becoming the first player to ever be named to
[12]

both first teams in the same season (as a designated hitter and starting pitcher respectively). [176] He
won his third straight Edgar Martínez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award,[177] his second Silver
Slugger Award for being the best offensive player at the designated hitter position in the American
League,[178] and his first career AL Hank Aaron Award.[179] For the third straight year, the Angels
announced that Ohtani was once again the team's Los Angeles Angels Player of the Year of 2023,
as voted by his teammates.[180] Baseball America named Ohtani its 2023 Baseball America Major
League Player of the Year[181] and from his MLB peers, he was awarded his second Players
Choice American League Outstanding Player Award.[182]

Ohtani's contract expired after the 2023 season and he became a free agent. [183]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 11, 2023, Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles
Dodgers, the largest contract in professional sports history.[14] The contract was structured in such a
way that $68 million per season was deferred until after the conclusion of the deal to be paid out
from 2034 to 2043.[184] In addition, Ohtani will be able to opt out of the deal at the end of a season if
the Dodgers' owner, Mark Walter, or president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, leave the
organization.[185][186]