Gerrit Cole/Aquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices

Sep 26, 2025

Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is interviewing after his team's district victory was confirmed against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on the 26th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News



Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
Pittsburgh Pirates Paul Skins is on the ground with support from his teammates ahead of the game against the Cincinnati Reds on the 25th (Korea time). Skins lowered his ERA to one point with six scoreless innings in the game. AFP Yonhap News
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani tasted the joy of winning the district for the second consecutive year since his transfer.

Ohtani hit his 54th home run of the season in the last of three consecutive away games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on the 26th (Korea Standard Time), strengthening his 8-0 victory.

The Dodgers, which won 90 games (69 losses) this season, ranked first in the NL West. Even if the second-place San Diego Padres win all three remaining games, they cannot beat the Dodgers. The Dodgers have proved once again that they are the strongest team in existence in name and reality, winning the district title for the last four years in a row and 12 times out of 13 years. He has advanced to the postseason for 13 consecutive years since 2013, and all but 2021 were eligible to win the district championship.




Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
Tani Shohei is doing a batting warm-up. ImagesYonhap News
Ohtani, who virtually confirmed the NL MVP, hit his 54th home run this season, tying his career high set last year and the most in a season in Dodgers history.

Ohtani hit a home run in the top of the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead. Leading Enrique Hernandez hit a left double and advanced to third base with Dalton Rushing's ground ball to second base.

Ohtani then took the batter's box and hit a changeup by Arizona right-hander Nabil Crismatt with a ball count of 1B1S to draw an arch that falls on the grass, which is 'attractions' of Chase Field, behind the fence. Launch angle of 29 degrees, batting speed of 102.3 miles, and distance of 406 feet.




When the 82.4 mile change-up, which falls to the lower course in the middle, flew into the strike zone in the middle and fell, Ohtani scooped the ball with a one-handed batting swing that hit it accurately as if he had lost timing.

Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
Otani is enjoying the Earth victory ceremony with his teammates. ImagesYonhap News
With this, Ohtani recorded 108 home runs in the two years since his transfer to the Dodgers. According to MLB.com , there are only two players in a team who have hit more home runs than Ohtani in the first two seasons. Babe Ruth hit 113 home runs for the New York Yankees from 1920 to 1921 and Alex Rodriguez hit 109 home runs for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2002.

Ohtani also added one more run to set the Dodgers record for the most in a single season since 1900, the starting point for Hyundai Baseball in this category with 144. The previous record was 143 posted by Babe Herman in 1930. The Dodgers' record for most goals scored in a single season is 148 set by Herb Collins in 1890, who participated in the NL during her time in Brooklyn.




Now, if Ohtani adds one home run in the last three consecutive games of the season against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park from the 27th to the 29th, he will reach the 55th home run mark in Dodgers history, and if he adds four points, he will tie the club's highest score. In addition, Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber (56), who ranks first in home runs in the NL, has narrowed the gap to two, and his challenge to become the home run king for the third consecutive year is still in effect.

As of today, the two leagues are ranked first in scoring, Ruta (373), long hit (87), and first in slugging percentage (0.619) and OPS (1.010) in NL. After returning as a pitcher, he pitched 47 innings in 14 games to show off his top-class skills by posting a 2.87 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and a 0.227 hit rate, effectively winning the postseason's first starter position. Until the previous day, bWAR ranked first among NL batters with 7.5 and fWAR ranked first with 9.1.

Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber is circling the base after hitting his 56th home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins on the 25th (Korea time). ImagesYonhap News
In this situation, there is no disagreement that Ohtani is MVP. Many analysts say that even if rival Schwarber becomes the home run-run king, his overall performance is less than Ohtani's. In a mock vote conducted by MLB.com on the 24th, 36 out of 40 experts gave Ohtani the top vote. Thirty reporters from the BBWAA (National Baseball Journalists Association) vote for MVP, and the votes of two Philadelphia reporters are the key.

If Ohtani receives 100% support, he will continue to win his fourth MVP award unanimously in 2021 and 2023 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels and last year when he moved to the Dodgers.

Unlike NL, AL MVP is fiercely competing between New York Yankees Aaron Judge and Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh. The prevailing opinion is that it is 50-50 years old. In other words, it is difficult for Ohtani's MVP partner to be unanimous this year. Ohtani partnered with Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr., the 2023 NL MVP, and last year's AL MVP Judge, respectively, setting a golden tower of unanimous MVP with both leagues.

Gerrit ColeAquña → Jersey, partner to win unanimous honor with Ohtani this year, unique one-point ERA suffices
Polskins remained overwhelmingly top in the category with a 1.97 ERA. AP Yonhap News
However, it is highly likely that the NL Cy Young Award will be decided unanimously this season. The Pittsburgh Pirates Polskins are expected to receive first-place votes from all 30 reporters. In other words, NL MVP and Cy Young Award can be decided unanimously.

On the 25th, Skins blocked six innings against the Cincinnati Reds with four hits and no runs, lowering his ERA from 2.03 to 1.97, the only score in both leagues. In the NL, the difference between the second-ranked Dodgers, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.49), is 0.52.

In one season, the MVP of the same league and the winner of the Cy Young Award were unanimously decided five times. Detroit Tigers Danny McClain won both AL NVP and Cy Young Awards in 1968, NL Jeff Bagwell and Greg Maddox in 1994, NL Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson in 2002, AL Ohtani and Gerrit Cole in 2023, and AL Judge and Tarik Skubal last year won both MVP and Cy Young Awards in the same season.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.