Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has been named the American League Player of the Month for July, his second month in a row receiving these honors and his fourth time in his career.
Ohtani was named Player of the Month in the AL in both June and July of 2021 as well, when he was named unanimous MVP. It’s inarguable that he has been the MVP of the AL this season and could be on pace to do it unanimously if he continues at this pace.
July was another dominant month for Ohtani. And it begins with a powerful performance at the plate. He had 103 plate appearances over 23 games in July, posting a slash line of .282/.447/.705 for an OPS of 1.152. He had 13 extra-base hits, including nine home runs and two triples. He struck out 29 times but collected 22 free passes.
Ohtani ranked first in the AL in on-base percentage and second in both slugging and OPS. He hit more home runs than anyone in the American League for the month.
But he also pitches. And even in a month where Ohtani was not his usual self on the mound, he managed to find a way to make some personal history.
Ohtani made four starts in July and had a 4.97 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 25.1 innings, both significantly above his season averages. However, he still struck out 29 batters in this span and posted the best individual pitching performance of his career.
On July 27, Ohtani tossed a complete game shutout, the first of his career in either category. He struck out eight and allowed four baserunners in nine innings of work. His 111 pitches tied a season high.
Ohtani now has a 3.43 ERA and 1.07 WHIP on the season, including an Major League-best 5.9 hits allowed per nine innings and 11.6 punch-outs per nine. His first start of the new month is on Thursday against the Seattle Mariners.
Ohtani named Player of the Week
It stands to reason that in the same week that he tossed a complete game shutout and had a two-homer outing in the same day, Ohtani was named the AL’s Player of the Week. He was given the honors for the week of July 23-29.
It was his third Player of the Week award this season and the seventh of his career. He was named Player of the Week twice during the month of July, bookending the 31 days with his two American League honors.