Shohei Ohtani (30, LA Dodgers) failed to receive the Player of the Month award despite having the most home runs per month in the National League and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of over 1.
However, looking at the winner’s performance, it was quite understandable.
On July 4, 2024, the Major League Baseball Secretariat announced the Player of the Month, Pitcher of the Month, Rookie of the Month, and Relief Pitcher of the Month for the National League and American League for June, respectively.
Bryce Harper (32, Philadelphia Phillies) of the National League and Aaron Judge (32, New York Yankees) of the American League won the Player of the Month award for two consecutive months following May.
Harper and Judge are the first time that two players in the National League and the American League have simultaneously won the Player of the Month award for two consecutive months.
This is the eighth Player of the Month award for Judge and the fourth for Harper.
At the same time, Ohtani was denied the Player of the Month award for the first time this season and his fifth time.
In the month of June, Ohtani recorded a batting average of 0.293 (29 hits in 99 at-bats), 12 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 26 runs in 26 games, an on-base percentage of 0.413, a slugging percentage of 0.697, and an OPS of 1.110.
wRC+ (adjusted scoring production) reached 201.
Shohei Ohtani hits his 25th home run in the tournament against the Chicago Cubs
On June 27, 2024, in an away game against the Chicago Cubs, he hit his 25th home run.
Starting with the home game against the Kansas City Royals on June 17, 2024, he succeeded in hitting an RBI in 10 consecutive games, rewriting the history of the LA Dodgers.
According to the Major League website, Ohtani’s 10 consecutive games with RBIs is the first LA Dodgers team to record ‘single season consecutive games’ since 1920, when RBIs were recognized as an official record.
The previous record was 9 consecutive RBIs by Eddie Brown in 1924, Ozzie Galan in 1944, and Roy Campanella in 1955.
He also hit 12 home runs in the month of June, second most in the major leagues and most in the National League.
As a result, with 27 home runs this season, he was significantly ahead of the competition for the home run title from second place Marcell Ozuna (Atlanta Braves), who had 21 home runs.
Bryce Harper (32, Philadelphia Phillies) in the National League
However, Harper only lagged behind in the number of home runs, and surpassed Ohtani in consistency.
Harper finished June with a batting average of 0.374 (34 hits in 91 at-bats) in 23 games, 7 home runs, 16 RBIs, 20 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.452, a slugging percentage of 0.714, and an OPS of 1.166.
In terms of productivity, he was ahead of Ohtani with wRC+ of 221.
MLB.com said, “Harper helped Philadelphia maintain its best performance in June by recording 10 doubles, 7 home runs, an OPS of 1.166, and a batting average of 0.374.
He was placed on the injured list at the end of the month.
However, if he comes back healthy, he could be the third MVP after 2015 and 2021,” he said.
Aaron Judge (32, New York Yankees) of the American League
It was Judge who had better results than Harper.
In the month of June, Judge had the most dominant performance in the entire major league with a batting average of 0.409 (36 hits in 88 at-bats), 11 home runs, 37 RBIs, 25 runs, an on-base percentage of 0.514, a slugging percentage of 0.864, and an OPS of 1.378 in 25 games in the month of June.
In June alone, he added 11 home runs and 37 RBIs, hitting 32 home runs and 83 RBIs even before the end of the first half of the year, and immediately emerged as the leader in all home runs and RBIs in the major league.
The wRC+ was also 277, which was a large difference from second place Harper’s 221.
MLB.com said, “Judge’s May was amazing, but his June was just as impressive.
He recorded an OPS of 1.397 in May with a batting average of 0.361, an on-base percentage of 0.479, and a slugging percentage of 0.918.
In June, he posted a batting average of 0.409, an on-base percentage of 0.514, a slugging percentage of 0.864, and an OPS of 1.378.
He was surprised, saying, “This is the first consecutive Player of the Month award in my career.”
However, Ohtani showed off his unwavering popularity by successfully participating in the All-Star Game for four consecutive years starting in 2021.
Ohtani competed with Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies) in the National League designated hitter category and took first place in fan voting with 63% of the votes.
However, they will not participate in the Home Run Derby held the day before the All-Star Game.
He has been running non-stop even after undergoing right elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in September of last year, and he is still in rehabilitation, so he does not plan to overdo it.
Dave Roberts, manager of his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, also said, “Ohtani is currently rehabbing from elbow surgery. I don’t think he has the responsibility to carry the major league on his own.
“He came to the LA Dodgers to win the championship, and he has never participated in the Home Run Derby,” he said, expressing the club’s will on behalf of the team.
The Major League All-Star Game will be held on July 17 at Globe Life Field, the home stadium of the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
by 안전놀이터