Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
Shohei Ohtani was named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time and second consecutive season winning the award with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani’s four wins tie him with Lance Armstrong, LeBron James and Tiger Woods for most among male honorees.
Previously honored in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels and 2024 with the Dodgers, Ohtani is one of four Dodgers to win the award, joining Maury Wills (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965 – the only other MLB multiple winner) and Orel Hershiser (1988).
This award marks the latest 2025 honor for Ohtani, to go with his fourth Most Valuable Player Award (AL 2021 and 2023, NL 2024-25) and his third consecutive Hank Aaron Award, honoring the top hitter in the league. He also won his fourth Silver Slugger (2021, 2023-25) and his fifth straight Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter award (2021-25).
Ohtani finished his second season with the Dodgers slashing .282/.392/.622 with 55 home runs and 102 RBI. He broke the Dodgers’ record for homers in a season, passing his mark from 2024 of 54. He set a new franchise record with 146 runs scored and he led the National League in slugging percentage (.622), on-base plus slugging (1.014), total bases (380) and runs.
He won the National League Player of the Month honor in May (sixth of his career) after finishing the month of May hitting .309 (34-for-110) with 15 homers, 27 RBI, five doubles, a triple, 17 walks, 31 runs scored, a .398 on-base percentage and a .782 slugging percentage in 27 games.
On the mound, he made 14 starts, going 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings. He posted a 145 ERA+ with a 1.043 WHIP and finished the season tossing 16.2 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts against eight hits and four walks.
In the postseason, Ohtani finished his historic campaign by tying the franchise record with eight postseason homers in a season, joining Corey Seager, who clubbed eight homers in 2020.
He is widely considered to have had the greatest playoff game of all time, hitting three homers and striking out 10 batters in six shutout innings as the Dodgers clinched the NL pennant, with Ohtani named NLCS MVP. The eight-time All-MLB selection and five-time All-Star also reached base nine times with two homers, two doubles and five walks (four intentional) in the Dodgers’ 18-inning World Series Game 3 triumph.
Ohtani has 11 postseason homers, which is tied for fourth all-time in franchise history with Kiké Hernández and Duke Snider, trailing only Max Muncy (16), Seager (13) and Justin Turner (13). He had three multi-homer games this past October.
Shohei Ohtani ranked among top postseason performers
Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Freddie Freeman were among the Dodgers players included in MLB Network’s ranking of the top 20 postseason performers of 2025.
Ohtani ranked No. 3 after hitting .265/.405/.691 with three doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 14 RBI in 84 plate appearances across 17 postseason games. As a pitcher, he went 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 12.4 strikeouts per nine in 20.1 innings over four starts.
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