More hardware for Sho: Ohtani wins 2 ESPYs

July 21st, 2022

There may not be enough superlatives to describe Shohei Ohtani's skills on the baseball field. But one thing is for certain: the awards just keep coming. The two-way superstar's latest honor was presented Wednesday night, when he was named Best Male Athlete at the ESPYs.

Ohtani is the reigning American League MVP after he made history in 2021, posting a .965 OPS with 46 home runs while also finishing the season with a 3.18 ERA in 23 starts on the mound for the Angels. No one had accomplished anything like that since Babe Ruth just before the dawn of the Live Ball Era.

Despite setting the bar so high last year, Ohtani has continued to wow us in 2022. In what might be his most dominant stretch of starts on the mound, the hard-throwing right-hander has only given up two earned runs in his last six starts (0.45 ERA) while walking 11 and striking out 58 in 39 2/3 innings.

While he unleashes his 100-mph fastball from the mound and crushes mammoth home runs at the plate, Ohtani's once-in-a-lifetime talent is sure to garner more hardware -- he also took home the ESPY for Best MLB Player on Wednesday -- to add to his 2018 AL Rookie of the Year Award, a Silver Slugger Award and the aforementioned MVP trophy.