"It's a true honor" - Shohei Ohtani expresses heartfelt gratitude in touching tribute to fans following 3rd MVP win

On Thursday, Shohei Ohtani was crowned an MVP for the third time in his seven-year MLB career, joining an exclusive group of players to have won the award on three or more occasions. He also became the first player to be named MVP as a designated hitter since the role was introduced, besides being just the second man to claim the honor in both the American League and National League.

Ohtani won the first two of his MVP titles with the Los Angeles Angels in 2021 and 2023. He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers for a record-breaking deal in the previous off-season before becoming the first player to reach 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same campaign. Ohtani also became just the sixth player to win the honor with two different teams.

The Japanese superstar secured all 30 first place ballots in the voting process to earn a maximum of 420 points. Thus, Ohtani went past his own mark to be the only MLB player to win the award unanimously on three occasions.

He offered an exclusive message of gratitude to fans via MLB on X/Twitter:

"What's up, baseball fans? This is Shohei Ohtani. It is a true honor to be named 2024 NL MVP," the message read. "Thank you all for following along tonight with and all season long. See you again on the field."

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor finished in a distant second place with 226 points, followed by Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte with 233 points in third place.

I don't go into the season trying to strive to get the MVP: Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani is only the second MLB player to win MVP in both leagues (Image Source: IMAGN)

Furthermore, Ohtani became the first player to earn an MVP in successive years since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 and 2013. He is also just the second man after Barry Bonds to win it in his final year with one team as well as the first year with his next since this honor was first handed out in 1931.

However, Ohtani said he does not go into a season targeting an MVP title.

"I obviously don't go into the season trying to strive to get the MVP award," Ohtani said through his interpreter, Matt Hidaka via MLB.com. "I was more focused on being one of the guys with the new team, the Dodgers. I wanted to obviously embrace the fans as well and just let them kind of learn who I was. I think that was my main goal heading into the season."

Ohtani produced his best offensive season in MLB history after he was sidelined from pitching duties for 2024. He posted 9.4 bWAR during the regular season, while leading the NL in on-base percentage (.390), slugging (.646), OPS (1.036), home runs (54), RBIs (130) and runs scored (134).