Photo/Illutration Shohei Ohtani with his wife, Mamiko, and their dog, Dekopin, receives news that he is the National League's MVP. (From official Instagram account of Major League Baseball)

Shohei Ohtani continues to find new ways to win baseball games and awards.

And in doing so, he has changed the rules of the major leagues.

During the off-season in 2017, Ohtani went to the United States, the home of baseball, to continue his “two-way” style of pitching and hitting. Many in the baseball world were skeptical about this approach.

But in his first major league season, with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani became the first player in history to make 10 starts, hit 20 home runs and steal 10 bases. He won the Rookie of the Year award.

To make full use of Ohtani’s two-way talent, Major League Baseball in 2022 revised its rules to allow starting pitchers to also play as designated hitters.

Ohtani responded to the change by winning his second MVP award in 2023.

Before the 2024 season with his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ohtani underwent surgery on his right elbow. He had no choice but to give up his two-way approach.

He seemed disappointed at being unable to fulfill his potential by only concentrating on being a designated hitter.

“Essentially, I wanted to pitch and (stay in the game) on the offensive side as well, and that was what I am supposed to do,” Ohtani said.

He also said, “I knew I couldn’t do that, so I wanted to play well enough on offense to make up for it.”

During spring training, he focused on base running.

He then went on to break Ichiro Suzuki’s record for the most stolen bases in a season by a Japanese player, which was 56.

Ohtani shattered the MLB stereotype that “designated hitters cannot run.”

Other designated hitters have come within reach of winning the MVP award.

In 1995, Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners, a five-time winner of the Best Designated Hitter Award, led his team with a .356 batting average and hit 29 home runs. The Mariners won the American League West Division title that year.

In 2006, David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox, an eight-time winner of the Best Designated Hitter Award, led the American League with 54 home runs and 137 runs batted in.

Both players had an OPS, which combines on-base percentage and slugging percentage, that was at least 0.1 point higher than the players who won the MVP award in those years.

Their scores were even higher than Ohtani’s OPS this season.

However, even with their dominant hitting records, Martinez and Ortiz were unable to overcome the negative aspects of “not playing defense as a fielder.” The two were also not considered base-stealing threats.

Ohtani this season shocked the majors by being “the best long-distance hitter in the league with the best speed as well.”

The impact of Ohtani becoming the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season was tremendous.

Bill Plunkett, an Orange County Register reporter who has covered baseball for 23 years, said Ohtani’s unprecedented “50-50” feat would be a powerful ingredient in winning the MVP award.

Ohtani had no strong rivals in the National League for the award, which was probably one reason he was a unanimous choice.

There was a time in the season when New York Mets slugger Francisco Lindor was considered a contender.

Mark Sanchez, a sports writer who covers the Mets for the New York Post, said Lindor was putting up MVP-like numbers until he was sidelined for a week and a half in mid-September with a back injury.

Ohtani’s numbers exploded during Lindor’s absence.

Sanchez said he thought Ohtani deserved the MVP award.

After the regular season ended, Ohtani said: “The most difficult thing is to stay healthy and play all year. The best thing was that I had few troubles.”

However, we must not forget that although Ohtani was “healthy” this season, he was a pitcher rehabbing his right elbow.

The record for most MVP awards is seven, set by Barry Bonds, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants.

If Ohtani returns as a pitcher and continues to have even “average” seasons at his level, that record could be in sight.

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