The MLB declared Shohei Ohtani, the designated hitter for the L.A. Dodgers, as the National League Player of the Week on Monday.Ohtani now stands alongside Hall of Famer Don Sutton as one of the few players to claim a weekly award while playing for both the Dodgers and the Angels.
Over the course of five games, the 29-year-old boasted an impressive .524 batting average (11-for-21), tallying three homers, seven RBI, three walks, six runs, two stolen bases, a .952 slugging percentage, and a .583 on-base percentage. Ohtani led the Majors in batting average, OBP, and OPS (1.535), tied for the lead in total bases (20), ranked second in slugging and hits, and tied for fourth in runs scored, according to MLB statistics.
During Sunday’s game against the Braves, the two-time unanimous AL MVP delivered his seventh career four-hit game, going 4 for 4 with two homers as the Dodgers secured a 5-1 victory, completing a series sweep.
Ohtani launched a hanging curveball from Braves starter Max Fried 412 feet over the center field fence for a two-run homer in the first inning. He followed up with a pair of singles in the third and sixth innings before smashing a 464-foot blast off reliever A.J. Minter deep into the left-center field bleachers to lead off the eighth inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts marveled at Ohtani’s performance, stating, “He just keeps doing things that we haven’t seen before. That’s deep. People don’t hit the ball out there, whether you’re left-handed or right-handed.”
This marked Ohtani’s first multi-homer game with the Dodgers and the 17th of his career. His four hits matched a career high, and he now shares the major league lead with 10 home runs this season.
The 2018 AL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year recorded hits in all of his games last week and has hit safely in 30 of his 35 games this season, the most in the Majors. Ohtani has reached base in all but three games this year and has reached base at least three times in 12 games, including all three games in the Dodgers’ recent series against the Braves.
In his first 35 games of the year, the three-time All-Star has dominated Major League hitters, leading in batting average (.364), slugging (.685), OPS (1.111), hits (52), doubles (14), extra-base hits (25), and total bases (98).
Additionally, the MLB recognized Oakland Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker as the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet.