Ohtani for NL MVP -- and Cy Young? Witt over Judge...
Key takeaways
- From an ability standpoint, it was more than doable.
- From a quantity standpoint, well, that's when questions arose.
- Flash forward to now and Ohtani has been more like a full-time rotation ace -- and his results are better than ever.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Yuichi Masuda/Getty Images Bradford Doolittle May 26, 2026, 07:00 AM ETClose MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been with ESPN since 2013Multiple Authors Email Print Open Extended Reactions When we learned during spring training about Shohei Ohtani's 2026 goal of winning the National League Cy Young Award, it was hard to know how realistic it was.
From an ability standpoint, it was more than doable. On a per-162-game basis, he had averaged a 13-7 record with a 3.00 ERA, 143 ERA+, 228 strikeouts and 5.5 bWAR entering this season. He would have to upgrade from that, but it was a great jumping-off point.
From a quantity standpoint, well, that's when questions arose. Ohtani has qualified for an ERA title just once. He pitches for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has the luxury of slow-playing their starting pitchers until the postseason. And there was the considerable additional factor of Ohtani, as one of the game's greatest hitters, also being an MVP-caliber designated hitter.