Baseball

Angels’ Shohei Ohtani named top DH for second straight season

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2022; Oakland, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) prepares to bat against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum.

Reuters

11:21 JST, November 29, 2022

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was named winner of the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award for the second consecutive year.

Ohtani outdistanced Houston Astros standout Yordan Alvarez while becoming the first player to win the award in consecutive seasons since David Ortiz won it five straight years from 2003-07.

The award is named after Edgar Martinez, the former star designated hitter for the Seattle Mariners who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

Ohtani batted .273 with 34 homers, 30 doubles, six triples and 95 RBIs in 157 games during a season in which he was runner-up for the American League MVP. He served as the Angels’ DH 153 times and was utilized as a pinch-hitter on four occasions.

Ohtani started 28 games as a pitcher this season and was the DH in each of them. He prospered from a new rule that allowed him to remain the DH after being removed as a pitcher.

Alvarez served as the designated hitter 77 times for the Astros and batted .299 with 19 homers and 52 RBIs in those games. He played left field in 56 games. Overall, he batted .306 with 37 homers and 97 RBIs in 135 games.