Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Ties Michael Jordan By Winning Another Major Sports Award

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani capped off his 2024 calendar year with another accolade when the Associated Press named him its Male Athlete of the Year for the third time.

The win tied him with basketball great Michael Jordan. He trails only four-time winners Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and LeBron James.

In voting by 74 sports journalists from the AP and its members, Ohtani earned 48 points, marking his third win of the award, following victories in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels. French swimmer Léon Marchand, who won four gold medals at the Paris Olympics, finished second with 10 votes. Golfer Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters and an Olympic gold medal this year, came in third with nine votes.

More news: Shohei Ohtani’s Pitching Looks ‘Really, Really Good’, Says Dodgers Teammate

“I’m very honored,” Ohtani said through translator Matt Hidaka in an exclusive interview with the AP. ”Obviously all the hard work has paid off. Maybe next year, I’ll get the award again.”

Ohtani had one of the best seasons baseball has ever seen. He founded the 50/50 club, batted a career-high. 310, won his third Most Valuable Player award, won the World Series, and signed a 10-year contract worth $700 million.

The two-way player also underwent surgery in early November to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder that he suffered during the World Series.

“I don’t have full range of motion yet, but it feels a lot better,” he told the AP. “There’s no pain. There’s obviously still a little bit of tightness, but slowly but surely it’s getting better.”

The rehab process is lengthy but he’s progessing. However, he is focused on the present day not what the future holds when it comes to where he plays on the field and if he is pitching or not.

“It’s the small steps that I think are very important to get me to the ultimate goal, which is to just get back healthy,” he said.

There have been rumblings that Ohtani might not be healthy enough to pitch when the Dodgers open the season in Tokyo but he isn’t completely counting that out.

“My personal goal is to be fully healthy by the time the opening games do start,” he said. “To be able to pitch and hit would be great, but the situation will kind of guide itself.”

More news: Dodgers’ Walker Buehler to Sign $21.05 Million Deal With AL Rival: Report

Photo Credit: Jonathan Hui-USA TODAY Sports

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!