Rafu Wire Service Reports
Angels two-way player Shohei Ohtani has finished second to New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge in the vote for The Sporting News’ MLB Player of the Year, the US website’s survey showed Thursday.
“In a survey of 360 players, Judge received 66 percent of the vote, easily outpacing second-place finisher Shohei Ohtani, who received about 18 percent,” The Sporting News she said. “In the minds of the overwhelming majority of voters, 2022 was clearly the Aaron Judge Show.”
Judge hit 62 home runs to break Roger Maris’ 61-year-old singleseason American League record. He also batted .311 and drove in a league-leading 131 runs.
Seven players received at least one vote in the category.
Judge was also named the Major League Player of the Year by Baseball Digest.
In the 54-year history of publication’s Player of the Year award, the only other Yankees to win were pitcher Ron Guidry (1978) and shortstop Derek Jeter (2006).
Judge can become a free agent after the World Series.
Reigning AL MVP Ohtani hit 34 homers while winning 15 games as a pitcher with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 28 starts.
Judge and Ohtani are among the top contenders for this year’s MVP.
Meanwhile, Angels hitting coach Jeremy Reed and assistant hitting coach John Mallee will not return next season, the team has confirmed.
Despite the presence of former AL MVPs Ohtani and Mike Trout, the Angels were a dismal hitting team in 2022 while finishing with their seventh consecutive losing record and missing the playoffs for the eighth straight year.