Lead: Las Vegas — On Nov. 13, 2025, Shohei Ohtani was named Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Player for the fourth time by a unanimous Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote, joining Barry Bonds as the only player with more than three MVP awards. The Dodgers’ two-way star was honored for a season that combined elite hitting, a comeback on the mound from a second Tommy John surgery, and a key role in Los Angeles’s second straight World Series title. Voters rewarded both regular-season production — including a 1.014 OPS and 55 home runs — and postseason heroics that helped carry the Dodgers through October. The vote cements a run of dominance that has seen Ohtani collect four MVPs in five seasons.
Key Takeaways
- Ohtani received a unanimous MVP selection from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Nov. 13, 2025, his fourth career MVP and the fourth in five seasons.
- He led the National League with a 1.014 OPS and a .622 slugging percentage, and ranked second in OBP at .392 while batting .282 (13th in NL).
- Ohtani hit 55 home runs, finishing one behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead.
- Fangraphs credited him with 7.5 wins above replacement (fWAR), the highest total in the National League for the regular season.
- On the mound, returning from a second Tommy John surgery, he made 14 starts with a 2.87 ERA, striking out 62 batters in 47 innings and regularly touching 100 mph on the fastball.
- In the postseason he produced landmark performances: two homers in the opener, a 3-homer, 10-strikeout, six-scoreless-innings showing in NLCS Game 4 (earning NLCS MVP), and a four-extra-base-hit, nine-times-on-base outing in the 18-inning World Series Game 3.
- With this fourth award Ohtani joins Barry Bonds (seven MVPs) as the only players with more than three MVPs in MLB history.
Background
Shohei Ohtani’s career has been defined by two-way excellence and unusual milestones. He first broke through as a combined hitter and pitcher in 2021, producing 46 home runs and a 3.18 ERA while striking out 156 batters; that season established him as a genuine two-way star. Over the next several years he alternated dominant offensive seasons with injury-impacted or limited pitching workloads, yet maintained elite production at the plate.
Before Ohtani’s rise, Barry Bonds stood alone as the only player with more than three MVPs, finishing his career with a record seven. A small group of historic figures — Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Yogi Berra and others — have reached three MVPs, but no one had cleared the three-award threshold until Ohtani’s fourth selection. Ohtani’s stretch of four MVPs in five seasons is widely viewed as one of the most sustained peaks in modern baseball.
Main Event
The BBWAA’s unanimous decision on Nov. 13, 2025, closed what had been a foreordained outcome through much of the season. As a hitter, Ohtani paced the league in OPS (1.014) and slugging (.622), and his 55 home runs gave him the second-highest total in MLB. He also ranked second in the NL in on-base percentage at .392. Those offensive numbers alone made him one of the most productive hitters in the game.
Equally important was his comeback as a pitcher. After undergoing a second Tommy John surgery and missing a year and a half from the mound, Ohtani returned to make a measured 14-start, 47-inning campaign with a 2.87 ERA — the second-lowest ERA of his career — and 62 strikeouts. Scouts and analysts noted that his fastball repeatedly touched 100 mph and that his splitter and sweeping breaking ball remained effective against big-league hitters.
Ohtani’s October performances crystallized his value. He began the playoffs with two home runs in the postseason opener, then produced an unprecedented NLCS Game 4: three home runs at the plate and ten strikeouts over six scoreless innings on the mound, a rare two-way masterpiece that earned him NLCS MVP honors. In the World Series’ 18-inning Game 3 he had four extra-base hits and reached base nine times, setting a postseason mark in that game and helping the Dodgers secure an epic victory.
Analysis & Implications
Ohtani’s fourth MVP amplifies the debate over his placement among the game’s all-time greats. Statistically, collecting four MVPs in five seasons is an exceptional concentration of peak value; voters rewarded not just raw numbers but the unusual combination of hitting and pitching contributions. That mix gives Ohtani a unique claim in discussions of career impact because his value accrues in two distinct ways — offensive production and pitching innings — that normal single-role players cannot replicate.
From a team-construction perspective, the Dodgers have benefited from extraordinary flexibility. Ohtani’s presence allowed Los Angeles to optimize roster choices (DH and pitching slots), and his October heroics materially affected the playoff outcomes that led to a second straight World Series title. For opponents and front offices, building a roster to counter a true two-way threat imposes different strategic demands than constructing a lineup against a traditional MVP hitter.
Economically and commercially, Ohtani remains a global asset for MLB. His cross-market appeal — Japan, the U.S., and international fans — drives ticket sales, broadcast interest and merchandising. On the competitive side, his ability to return from a second Tommy John surgery and immediately produce high-leverage pitching suggests medical and player-development teams will study his rehab timeline closely; successful recoveries at that level could influence how teams manage injured two-way players going forward.
Comparison & Data
| Player | MVPs | Notable span / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Barry Bonds | 7 | Three early MVPs (1990, 1992-93) and four straight (2001-04) |
| Shohei Ohtani | 4 | Four MVPs collected across five seasons; two-way production and unanimous voting |
The table frames Ohtani’s four awards against Bonds’ record seven. While Bonds’ total remains unmatched, Ohtani’s concentration of MVP-caliber seasons in a short window is historically rare, especially given his dual role. Teams and analysts will weigh both totals and context — length of peak, role, and era — when assessing all-time rankings.
Reactions & Quotes
Ohtani spoke through an interpreter after the announcement, framing the honor as both personal and team-focused. He emphasized the special nature of a unanimous selection and thanked teammates and staff for their support during his recovery and championship run.
“It’s an honor, of course. Being chosen unanimously was also very special,”
Shohei Ohtani
The Dodgers and teammates pointed to his October performances as pivotal moments in the club’s title defense. Front-office comments emphasized the blend of individual excellence and team impact that the award recognized.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about winning games,”
Shohei Ohtani
Unconfirmed
- Whether Ohtani will pitch a full, traditional starter’s workload in 2026 remains uncertain; club plans and medical decisions have not been finalized publicly.
- Predictions that he will win a fifth MVP or match Bonds’ streaks are speculative and depend on health, role, and year-to-year performance.
Bottom Line
Shohei Ohtani’s unanimous fourth MVP on Nov. 13, 2025, ratifies a modern-era run of sustained dominance and adds a historic footnote to his resume: he is now the only player besides Barry Bonds to hold more than three MVP awards. The selection reflects both extraordinary regular-season output and iconic postseason moments that pushed the Dodgers to a second straight World Series title.
Beyond individual accolades, the award underscores how rare two-way elite production is in contemporary baseball and how such a player reshapes roster strategy, medical monitoring, and competitive planning. Looking ahead, Ohtani’s health and how the Dodgers manage his workload will determine whether this remains a chapter in a short but brilliant peak or the start of a longer run toward statistical immortality.
Sources
- Los Angeles Times (news report)
- Baseball Writers’ Association of America (official announcement / voting body)
- FanGraphs (advanced statistics and fWAR data)
- MLB.com (league postseason and championship summaries)