Shohei Ohtani received 30 first-place votes and won the 2021 AL MVP unanimously. Twenty years ago, Ichiro Suzuki won the AL Rookie of the Year award and the AL MVP award in his first season with the Mariners.
Ohtani and Ichiro are the only two Japanese players who won the MVP awards in the MLB. Looking back at their great seasons, there’s something interesting.
In 2001, Ichiro made his MLB debut on April 2 after playing 9 seasons in the NPB. Before joining the Mariners, he already won the Pacific League MVP three times. In Ichiro’s first season with the Mariners, he hit .350/.381/.457 with 8 home runs and 69 RBI. He led the majors with 242 hits and he ran a lot with 56 stolen bases, most in the majors.
Twenty years later, Shohei Ohtani batted .257/.372/.592 with 46 home runs and 100 RBI in his fourth season with the Angels. He didn’t run as much as Ichiro did. However, he had 26 stolen bases, 8th most in the majors. At the same time, Ohtani tossed 130.1 innings and posted a 3.18 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Additionally, he struck out 156 batters. Winning a league MVP isn’t new for Ohtani, he won the Pacific League MVP in 2016.
They each had a great season to win the AL MVP and there’s something similar.
Ichiro is not a home run hitter, but he’s definitely a great hitter. In his rookie season, he collected 34 doubles and 8 triples. In 2021, Shohei Ohtani had 26 doubles, and, interestingly, he had 8 triples as Ichiro did in 2001. Additionally, they were each caught 10+ times in their MVP seasons. Ichiro played 157 games in 2001 and, this season, Ohtani played 155 games. They are two different types of players. However, there’s little difference in total bases. They each recorded 310+ total bases.
Twenty years ago, Ichiro began his legendary career in the majors. He won the AL Rookie of the Year and the AL MVP in 2001. Moreover, he’s a 10-time All-Star and won the Gold Glove 10 times. Additionally, he had more than 3000 hits in his career. Nevertheless, he only played in the postseason in 2001 and 2012.
In 2018, Ohtani began his career in the majors and he slashed .285/.361/.564 with 22 home runs and 61 RBI. He won the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year award, but he only batted .190/.291/.366 last season. Nonetheless, Ohtani bounced back in 2021 and had a historic season. Nonetheless, he hasn’t had any playoff appearances in the majors yet.
Ichior’s career was definitely great and he achieved many milestones. There’s no doubt that he will make a speech in Cooperstown. However, there’s a pity that he only played in the postseason in 2001 and 2012. He and the Orix won the Nippon Series once, but he never played in the World Series. Ohtani just turned 27 in July and so far, he has already won the Rookie of the Year award and the AL MVP as Ichiro did. Additionally, he and the Nippon-Ham Fighters won the Nippon Series Champions in 2016. If Ohtani stays healthy, he will probably achieve more than Ichiro did. And, we might see Ohtani become an MVP again. But, when will Ohtani play in the postseason or even play the World Series?
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