LA Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani was on the official award stage for the first time in five years.
The “99th New York Baseball Writers Association (NYBBWAA) Night” event, organized by the National Baseball Writers Association (BBWAA), was the stage.
The event took place in New York’s famous “Hilton in Midtown Manhattan” on the 28th (Korea time). Ohtani attended the event as an American League MVP last year. Dressed in a neat suit, Ohtani stood in front of the podium microphone with a slightly nervous look.
At the event, which was attended by about 600 officials, including reporters and general fans, Ohtani read his prepared acceptance speech in English for two minutes.
“I’m grateful to BBWAA for giving me this award. This award is very special and I feel like I have the whole world,” he said. “I’m grateful to the fans for their support and congratulations to my fellow players who received the award here.”
Ohtani appeared at an official event 44 days after the Dodgers’ joining press conference on December 15 last year.
After the greeting, Ohtani thanked the Los Angeles Angels, where he has been for the past six years.
“Thank you to the owners, the front desk, and all the staff of the Angels for your support over the past six years. I’m really grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to play baseball that I’m passionate about,” he said. “My teammates and coaching staff also helped me a lot, and I played baseball with your support every day.”
Ohtani finished the season early in September after undergoing elbow surgery last year. However, he was unanimously named the AL MVP after 2021 with a batting average of 0.304, 44 home runs, 95 RBIs, 102 runs scored, an OPS 1.066, 10-5 losses, a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts.
After the season, he signed a 10-year, $700 million contract and wore a Dodgers uniform after enjoying the FA market.
As for his new team, Dodgers, he said, “I would like to thank the Dodgers for believing in me, and I’m looking forward to the second stage of my career.”
Dusty Baker, a former Houston Astros coach and current San Francisco Giants advisor who attended the event as a recipient of the merit award, praised him, saying, “Ohtani is the best player I have ever seen.”
The New York Baseball Reporters’ Night was organized in 1924 and is held in New York in January every year. The event, which had been closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resumed in January last year and was held for the 98th time. The New York branch is the oldest and the largest among the 25 BBWAA branches.
At this event, the MVP, Cy Young Award, Rookie of the Year, Director Award ceremony, and individual award ceremony organized separately by the baseball press conference will be held together. It is a place where all major league superstars who have shone for a season will participate. 꽁머니지급
Ohtani will attend the event for the first time in five years since January 2019, right after he won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Ohtani was named the AL Rookie of the Year by batting .285 with 22 home runs, 61 RBIs, an OPS 0.925, and striking out 4-2 with an ERA of 3.31 and 63 in 10 games as a pitcher since his debut in the Major League in 2018. Ohtani was also applauded for his impressions in English at the time.
National League MVP Atlanta Braves Ronald Acuña Jr. also attended the event, and winners of both leagues’ Cy Young Awards, Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees), Blake Snell (FA), Rookie of the Year, Henderson (Baltimore Orioles), Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks), and Coach Award winners Brandon Hyde (Baltimore) and Skip Schumaker (Miami Marlins) also took the podium to lift the trophy.