By Joiner Martínez
Nov 30, 2023, 11:15 PM EST
The awards for Shohei Ohtani do not end and this Thursday the Japanese phenomenon was selected as the winner of the Edgar Martínez award for Extraordinary Designated Hitter of the year.
After winning his second award as Most Valuable Player of the American League, Ohtani was also recognized with the Silver Slugger as a DH on the 9th of that month.
2023 is the third consecutive season that Ohtani has won the award for best designee, something that only the Dominican and Hall of Fame member David Ortiz had achieved, who won the recognition five times in a row between 2003 and 2007, while Hal McRae (three times) and Puerto Rican Martínez (five) are the other players to have won the award at least three times.
This award was inaugurated in 1973, with the creation of the designated hitter position in the American League and was named in Martínez’s honor in 2004.
Ohtani won the Most Outstanding Designated Hitter award, ‘Edgar Martínez’, after hitting .304 with 44 home runs, 96 runs batted in, eight triples and 20 stolen bases for the Los Angeles Angels, in a season that ended at the plate on 3 September due to an oblique injury.
Ohtani finished ahead of Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves, Yordan Álvarez of the Houston Astros, Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies and JD Martínez of the Los Angeles Dodgers in voting by writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. Players who were eligible with 100 or more at-bats as a designated hitter.
The Major League star who is also a pitcher, went 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts on the mound, struck out 167 and walked 55 in 132 innings before tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. of his right elbow on August 23.
Eight teams interested in signing Ohtani
With at least eight teams potentially in the bidding for Shohei Ohtani’s services, it could be a long time before we know who the Japanese will be playing with from 2024 onwards.
The start of the Winter Meetings is just a few days away, and of course, the fate of Shohei Ohtani promises to be the most striking topic of the event. According to MLB Network analyst Jon Heyman, the “general opinion” is that the Japanese phenom will sign with his next team before the meetings end on December 6.
“I’m thinking he could sign at the Winter Meetings, which would be very exciting,” Heyman mentioned Ohtani in a video made for Bleacher Report. “That seems to be the general opinion at the moment. There are no guarantees, but (executives) believe Ohtani will be the next big signing at the Winter Meetings.”
Taking into account that “we are mainly reading between the lines, with the little information that there is,” MLB Network analyst Jon Heyman mentioned in an article he wrote for the New York Post that there are three teams that appear to be preparing “in a big way.” in the bid for Shohei Ohtani: Dodgers, Cubs and Giants.
Keep reading:
A contract of at least 10 years: The condition that Shohei Ohtani would have set to sign with any team
Ohtani rejected Angels’ qualifying offer and will try his luck in MLB free agency
Topps releases autographed card by Shohei Ohtani and Babe Ruth