Shohei Ohtani captures two consecutive MVPs; American League MVP race ends close

The MLB Most Valuable Player awards for the 2025 season are official, and while one league had a close race, it wasn’t in the other.

After winning his second World Series in as many years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani also has back-to-back National League MVP awards under his belt after a unanimous vote from the Baseball Writers Association of America.

The Japanese two-way superstar was named the 2025 National League MVP, giving him four throughout his MLB career. He won his first two in the American League with the Los Angeles Angels. In fact, he has won an MVP award in each of the last three seasons, having won the 2023 award in his final year as an Angels star.

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Now, Ohtani only has Barry Bonds to chase for the most MVP awards in MLB history. Bonds won seven NL MVPs, a feat some believe is still untouchable. Ohtani was tied with 10 other players with three throughout their careers, but the 31-year-old is now in a new position and only looking at Bonds.

Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and Juan Soto of the New York Mets were the two remaining finalists in the National League. Schwarber received 23 second-place votes to Soto’s four.

A five-time All-Star, Ohtani led the National League in runs scored (146), slugging percentage (.622) and OPS (1.024), while hitting 55 home runs with 102 RBI and a .282 average. Ohtani also had a .392 on-base percentage with 20 intentional walks, which also led the National League.

And after failing to pitch in 2024, Ohtani returned to the mound this season with a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts (47 innings) with 62 strikeouts and nine walks.

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The award is strictly based on the regular season, but Ohtani played a major role in the Dodgers retaining their World Series title in an epic seven-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 17 postseason games, Ohtani hit .265/.405/.691 with eight home runs, three doubles and 14 RBIs.

While it was virtually certain that Ohtani would be named National League MVP, one of baseball’s biggest debates revolved around the American League MVP. Will New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge go straight, or will Seattle Mariners switch-hitting catcher Cal Raleigh’s dream season end with the award?

Baseball writers chose Judge.

Judge received 17 first-place votes to Raleigh’s 13, which the BBWAA said was the most MVP race since 2019.

Judge has won MVP three of the last four years in the American League.

While Raleigh surpassed Judge in the home run department, the Yankees slugger won the first batting title of his career, leading the MLB with a .331 average. He also led the entire MLB with a .457 on-base percentage, a .688 slugging percentage and a 1.144 OPS and led the American League with 137 runs.

Judge scored 114 RBIs and drew 36 intentional walks, eliminating Ohtani’s NL-leading total.

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This was Judge’s seventh All-Star season, as he continues to be arguably the best pure hitter in MLB. Unfortunately for him and the pinstripes, they couldn’t make the run that Ohtani and the Dodgers did. The Yankees were defeated by the American League pennant-winning Blue Jays in the ALDS, although Judge had a memorable moment in Game 3 with a clutch home run off the foul pole to keep the Yankees’ season alive.

Raleigh was one of the biggest baseball stories of the season. It just seemed like Raleigh couldn’t be stopped and couldn’t stop breaking records in the process.

Raleigh hit 60 home runs, which not only led the MLB, but also set the league record for the most ever by a catcher, a switch-hitter and a Mariners player. He finished with 125 RBIs and hit .247/.359/.948 in 159 games.

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Raleigh played in all but three games this season, which includes 128 games at the league’s most demanding position of catcher.

Those who supported Raleigh during the season pointed out how he consistently broke records for a position that is usually overlooked for this type of award. He was a clear factor in the Mariners winning the American League West title for the first time since 2001, and they also had a good run in the postseason, before finally succumbing to the Blue Jays in Game 7.

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