Ohtani won his fourth Most Valuable Player award Nov. 13 when balloting from the Baseball Writers’ Assn. was announced. It is his second National League honor with the Los Angeles Dodgers after winning a pair of American League MVPs down the freeway with the Angels – the first player to win multiple MVPs in both leagues
Ohtani’s fourth MVP broke a tie with 10 players who were three-time MVPs, and moved him behind only Bonds, whose seven NL MVPs are most in Major League Baseball history.
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge powered his way into the Gang of Three.
Judge won his third American League MVP, prevailing in a tight battle over record-setting Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh.. Judge hit 53 home runs and won his first career batting title, leading the majors with a .331 mark. Raleigh hit 60 home runs, a record for both a catcher and switch-hitter, and drove in 125.
The voting reflected their unique greatness: Judge earned 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13. And Raleigh had 17 second-place votes – to Judge’s 13.
NL MVP Shohei Ohtani stats
Batting
.282 average, .392 OBP, .622 slugging, 1.014 OPS
55 home runs, 102 RBIs, 20 stolen bases
Pitching
2.87 ERA in 47 innings (14 starts)
62 strikeouts, 11.87 K/9
Ohtani’s MVP seasons are wildly distinct, appropriate given his vast skill set. In 2024, he won his first NL MVP with an unprecedented 54-homer, 59-stolen base campaign. A year later, he ran less – but made a triumphant return to the pitching mound.
Indeed, he stole “just” 20 bases yet boosted his career high in homers to 55 and, after the Dodgers slow-played his pitching rehab, ramped up from opener to multi-inning guy to, by season’s end, a full-fledged starter who was crucial to the Dodgers’ postseason hopes on both sides of the ball.
In a sense, this MVP campaign was a hybrid of Ohtani’s first two MVP seasons in 2021 and 2023– when he hit 46 and 44 home runs and pitched 130 ⅓ and 132 innings with ERAs of 2.33 and 3.14, respectively. But the latter season ended early on the pitching side, as Ohtani needed another elbow reconstruction surgery after the year, preceding his signing with the Dodgers.
This time around, he pitched less but belted more home runs, the Ohtani formula ever-shifting.
AL MVP Aaron Judge stats
.331 average (AL batting champion), .457 OBP, .688 slugging, 1.145 OPS
53 home runs, 114 RBIs
Judge’s greatness was historic in so many ways. Not only was he the tallest player – at 6 feet, 7 inches – to win a batting title, he also led the major leagues in all three slash lines, with a .331 average, .457 on-base percentage and .688 slugging percentage; his 1.144 OPS was far ahead of No. 2 Ohtani’s 1.014.
This century, only Barry Bonds (2002) and Miguel Cabrera (2013) can claim they led the major leagues in batting, on-base and slugging percentage in a single season. And only Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols have managed both a batting title and home run crown.
Simply, Judge’s greatness reached another, more diverse level this season, cementing himself not just as a slugger but one of the greatest all-around hitters of all time.
“I don’t ever want to become desensitized by the consistency and the enormity of his accomplishments,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in a statement released after Judge’s victory was announced. “It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to use words to capture how good he is. He’s just playing at a higher level, and has been for quite some time.”
2025 AL MVP voting results
14 points for first-place vote, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.
Aaron Judge, Yankees – 355 (17 of 30 first-place votes)
Cal Raleigh, Mariners – 335 (13 first-place votes)
Jose Ramirez, Guardians – 224
Bobby Witt Jr., Royals – 215
Tarik Skubal, Tigers – 139
Julio Rodriguez, Mariners – 136
George Springer, Blue Jays – 125
Garrett Crochet, Red Sox – 74
Junior Caminero, Rays – 37
Jeremy Peña, Astros – 32
Byron Buxton, Twins – 30
Nick Kurtz, Athletics – 29
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays – 14
Cody Bellinger, Yankees – 7
Maikel Garcia, Royals – 7
Also receiving votes: Bo Bichette, Riley Greene, Aroldis Chapman, Yandy Diaz, Jacob Wilson
2025 NL MVP voting results
14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third on down to one for 10th.
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers – 420 (30 of 30 first-place votes)
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies – 260
Juan Soto, Mets – 231
Geraldo Perdomo, Diamondbacks – 196
Trea Turner, Phillies – 102
Paul Skenes, Pirates – 83
Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks – 83
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres – 78
Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs – 63
Francisco Lindor, Mets – 61
Pete Alonso, Mets – 48
Christian Yelich, Brewers – 34
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers – 29
Brice Turang, Brewers – 23
Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies – 16
Also receiving votes: Michael Busch, Manny Machado, Matt Olson, Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Will Smith, Ketel Marte, Elly De La Cruz
MLB MVP winners by year
2024: Aaron Judge (Yankees) and Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
2023: Shohei Ohtani (Angels) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
2022: Aaron Judge (Yankees) and Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals)
2021: Shohei Ohtani (Angels) and Bryce Harper (Phillies)
2020: Jose Abreu (White Sox) and Freddie Freeman (Braves)
2019: Mike Trout (Angels) and Cody Bellinger (Dodgers)
2018: Mookie Betts (Red Sox) and Christian Yelich (Brewers)
2017: Jose Altuve (Astros) and Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins)
2016: Mike Trout (Angels) and Kris Bryant (Cubs)
2015: Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays) and Bryce Harper (Nationals)
MVP finalists 2025
American League
Aaron Judge, Yankees
Cal Raleigh, Mariners
Jose Ramirez, Guardians
National League
Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Juan Soto, Mets
Shohei Ohtani contract
Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The largest contract in the history of North American pro sports when he signed in, the deal defers $680 million of the package to payments that start in 2034.