Former Angels Star Wins AP Male Athlete of the Year Award

Hint: it's exactly who you think it is.

For the second time in the last three seasons, an Angels player has been named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.

For the first time, the Angels will not be welcoming Shohei Ohtani back to Angel Stadium to receive his plaque.

Shohei Ohtani has been named The Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years.

Before Ohtani signed the most lucrative contract in sports history, the superstar put together yet another season of unparalleled brilliance. https://t.co/94SJL1EfCk pic.twitter.com/UVWw9AWUL1

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) December 21, 2023

Ohtani received 20 votes from the AP media panel. Runner-ups Novak Djokovic and Lionel Messi received 16 votes each.

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was fourth. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was fifth. Three-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen was sixth. Ronald Acuña Jr. — the only other baseball player to receive votes — and sprinter Noah Lyles tied for seventh.

The global field of competition across all sports for the coveted award highlights just how special Ohtani's 2023 season was.

Ohtani led the American League with 44 homers, 78 extra-base hits, 325 total bases and a 1.066 OPS as the Halos’ designated hitter. As a pitcher, he limited opponents to an AL-best .184 batting average while ranking second in the league with 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings and third with a 3.14 ERA.

Despite missing the end of the season with an oblique injury, and pitching only 132 innings before sustaining an injury to his right ulnar collateral ligament, Ohtani was the unanimous American League MVP.

Earlier this month, Ohtani agreed to a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, officially ending the Anaheim chapter of his career.

Ohtani also was named the AP Male Athlete of the Year in 2021. He joins a prestigious list of stars who have won the award twice, including Sandy Koufax, LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, and Michael Jordan, among others.

For the Angels, the award offers a bittersweet reminder of what they had on their roster. Ohtani never reached the postseason in six seasons in Anaheim. Even though he offered teams friendly contract terms as a free agent, the Angels did not match the Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants' offers to Ohtani.

Now, the Angels will forge ahead without their transcendent superstar, who will enjoy the victory lap from his latest award up the freeway in Los Angeles.