The Angels' 2018 season did not end with their two-way player Shohei Ohtani leading them to their first postseason appearance since 2014.
But a month and a half after they wrapped up a third straight losing campaign and bid farewell to longtime manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels and Ohtani learned Monday the risks they took introducing Major League Baseball to its first two-way player in close to a century were worthwhile. Ohtani was named the American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He received 25 of 30 first-place votes, edging the New York Yankees' Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres.
The award capped a historic season for the 24-year-old, who had the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow repaired in October.
Over 104 games Ohtani hit .285 with a .925 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 61 runs batted in and 3.9 wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference's version of the statistic. Before the UCL injury ended his performance on the mound, Ohtani pitched 51 2/3 innings over 10 starts, went 4-2 with a 3.31 E.R.A. and collected 63 strikeouts (11 per nine innings).
Ohtani is the third Angels player named rookie of the year, joining Tim Salmon (1993) and Mike Trout (2012). He is also the fourth Japanese-born player to win the award, joining Hideo Nomo (1995), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001).
