Ohtani finishes 2nd for NL MVP after stellar (though injury-dampened) campaign

In the National League MVP race, the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani came up just short. MLB announced that Ohtani was named the runner-up in NL MVP voting, finishing behind the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong, who received a unanimous result on Thursday night on MLB Network.

The outcome snapped a streak of three consecutive MVP Awards won by Ohtani, who had previously won two AL MVPs and two NL MVPs in his overall league resume.

Ohtani’s season still produced the kind of two-way impact that has defined his MVP-level profile, even if it was increasingly limited by health. Through the first half of the regular season, he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA across 14 starts, struck out 95 batters over 85 2/3 innings, and posted a 237 ERA+.

But his workload changed after July 3, when he did not pitch again due to recurring left-knee soreness. Around the same time, MLB reported he also dealt with a minor right-biceps injury, and the two issues, per the league’s recap, never fully went away. In September, Ohtani landed on the 15-day injured list.

Despite being physically compromised later in the year, Ohtani still put together strong overall production as a hitter and continued to factor as a pitcher earlier in the season. MLB’s voting recap credited him with a.889 OPS, 30 home runs (team-leading for the Dodgers), and a 143 OPS+, alongside elite innings in the first half.

Still, Crow-Armstrong was described by MLB as the higher all-around performer in the NL MVP picture. The Cubs center fielder delivered a 40-40 season, and MLB characterized his defense as among the best in baseball.

Ohtani also drew votes across the BBWAA ballot. MLB reported he appeared on all 30 NL MVP ballots, taking 26 second-place votes, two third-place votes, and two fourth-place votes. Only two players, according to Elias Sports Bureau as cited by MLB, have finished in the top three in their league’s MVP voting in six straight seasons played, and Ohtani is one of them (along with Ted Williams).

For the Dodgers, the MVP vote result serves as both validation and an obvious question for the next roster-building cycle: sustaining Ohtani’s full two-way role across an entire regular season, not just its early stretch.