Silver Slugger finalists set up a position-by-position showdown
Ohtani versus Schwarber at NL designated hitter and crowded outfield fields headline the wait for November 17.
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Baseball · MLB · Two-way player
Shohei Ohtani
2026 Season performance
In the 2026 regular season, Ohtani played 139 games for the Dodgers and hit .275/.377/.512 with 30 home runs, 81 RBIs, 11 steals and an .889 OPS. On the mound he made 14 starts, logging 85⅔ innings with an 8–2 record, 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts. His season-long value spans hitting and pitching; Silver Slugger comparisons, however, concern the offensive side.
Updated 2026-11-10Career background
Ohtani came from Hanamaki Higashi High School and was selected by Nippon-Ham in the first round in 2012, beginning his two-way NPB career in 2013. He moved to the Angels in 2018, recorded meaningful pitching and hitting contributions and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, extending his Japanese two-way path to MLB.
AL MVP awards followed in 2021 and 2023. After joining the Dodgers in 2024, he won the NL award in both 2024 and 2025. In 2022 alone he pitched 166 innings with 219 strikeouts while hitting 34 home runs. Seasons with substantial work in both disciplines explain his challenge to conventional player roles more clearly than treating either activity as an occasional crossover.
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