The Los Angeles Angels may not be the best team in MLB, the American League, or even in their own division.
In fact, they are currently fourth in the AL West, although they still have an outside shot at making the playoffs.
Their current position in the standings is, however, not Shohei Ohtani’s fault, as the 27-year-old phenom is doing everything in his power to send his club to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
At this point, you probably know that he is performing like an ace on the mound and like a top slugger at the plate.
However, the fact that we say it over and over again doesn’t make the feat less impressive.
The Most Valuable Player award doesn’t have a definitive criterion: voters analyze several elements to determine which player has been more important to the success of his team.
Some of them vote for the best overall player, others for the best hitter, while others prioritize those who play on playoff teams.
At this point, there is simply no way Ohtani loses the MVP award.
A Truly Unique Season
Ohtani is leading MLB in home runs, with 36.
🚨EL HR MAS LARGO DEL MARTES
▶️ Shohei Ohtani
💥HR de 463 ft
#Angels— Joframaso⚾️ (@joframaso) July 28, 2021
Can you imagine Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, or Yu Darvish leading the league in home runs hit?
They can’t even hold their own in the batter’s box.
That’s what makes Ohtani so special: he is equally great at hitting and pitching, and he is doing this that nobody has done in more than 100 years.
As a hitter, Ohtani is batting .276 with a 1.044 OPS.
He also has 14 stolen bases, so he can hit for average, take walks, hit homers, steal bases, pitch, and play defense.
That’s bonkers.
As a pitcher, he has been equally outstanding, by far the best pitcher in the Angels’ rotation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Ohtani is 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 15 starts.
He has covered 80 innings, striking out 100 and showing a beautiful 1.13 WHIP.
He can reach 100 mph with his fastball and has an ugly splitter that misses bats like few other pitches in the league.
😱 Shohei Ohtani had an amazing game last night.
Is he the front runner for the MVP award? pic.twitter.com/C9OOvi3heD
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) July 27, 2021
Not Even A Triple Crown Can Change The Outcome Of The MVP Award
Right now, there aren’t too many MVP candidates in the AL who can rival Ohtani’s case.
In fact, there might be only one with a truly MVP-worthy season: Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladdy Jr. is currently pacing the AL in batting average with .328, and is second in RBI with 80.
He is also second in home runs with 32 only trailing Ohtani’s 36.
Guerrero could become the first player to win the Triple Crown (something that has been done only a handful of times) since peak Miguel Cabrera, back in 2012.
However, not even a Triple Crown can take the MVP away from Ohtani if the latter remains healthy and doing what he is doing.
When other potential candidates stay healthy for a full season while performing like Roger Clemens and Jim Thome in the same body, then there could be a discussion.
NEXT: 3 Drastic Moves Angels Can Make In Order To Contend