Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves) swept the first-place votes in MLB.com’s virtual first-half Most Valuable Player (MVP) poll.
MLB.com released the results of its “Mock MVP” poll of 47 journalists and experts on Friday, the first day of the second half.
There was no disagreement.
Ohtani received all 47 first-place votes in the American League (AL) and Acuña Jr. in the National League (NL).
Voters were able to rank their choices from 1-5 to determine their next choice.
As MLB.com notes, “In Major League Baseball, a total of 19 players in the AL and NL combined have received first-place votes in the official MVP voting. The most recent unanimous (first-place) MVP was 2021 AL MVP Ohtani.” “There has yet to be a unanimous AL and NL All-Star in the same year.”
If the first half’s MVP dominance continues into the second half, we could see a record number of unanimous MVPs in the AL and NL at the same time.
In the first half of the year, Ohtani, who has created a two-hit wonder in the majors, hit .302 with 32 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a 1.050 OPS. He leads the AL in home runs and OPS.
While his batting numbers alone would put him in contention for MVP, Ohtani also pitched in 17 games, going 7-4 with a 3.32 ERA and 132 strikeouts.
“Not much more needs to be said about Ohtani; he’s having another historic season,” MLB.com commented.
The AL runner-up in the mock poll was Luis Robert Jr (Chicago White Sox).
He also had a strong first half, hitting .271 with 26 homers, 51 RBIs, and an OPS of .899, but not enough to overtake Ohtani.먹튀검증
Acuña Jr. is a hitter who combines power and speed.
In the first half, he hit 21 home runs and stole 41 bases. His batting average is .331.
“He’s on pace for a ’38-homer, 75-steal season,'” MLB.com said, adding that “no player in major league history has ever hit 30 homers and stolen 70 bases in a single season.”
Second in the NL mock poll was Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers). Betts hit .276 with 26 home runs, 62 RBIs, and a .965 OPS in the first half. He also stole seven bases.
However, there was much more support for Acuña Jr. with his power and speed.