Two-way star Shohei Ohtani was a singular sensation in voting for AL Rookie of the Year.
A standout on the mound and at the plate for the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani was an overwhelming pick for American League Rookie of the Year after becoming the first player since Babe Ruth a century ago with 10 homers and four pitching wins in the same season.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was a runaway pick for the NL honor over Washington outfielder Juan Soto in a contest between 20-year-olds.
MLB All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves points to the ceiling while talking with first base coach Hideki Matsui (55) after teammate Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals ground-rule flied out in the fourth inning of Game 3 against All Japan at the All-Stars Series baseball at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018. (AP PhotoToru Takahashi)
A 24-year-old right-hander who joined the Angels last winter after five seasons with Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters, Ohtani received 25 first-place votes and four seconds for 137 points from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in balloting announced Monday.
A pair of New York Yankees infielders followed. Miguel Andujar was second with five firsts and 89 points, and Gleyber Torres was next with 25 points.
Ohtani was 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 51 2/3 innings in 10 starts, limited by a torn elbow ligament that required surgery on Oct. 1 and likely will prevent him from pitching next year. As a designated hitter, he batted .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs and a .925 OPS in 367 plate appearances. He became the first player with 15 homers as a batter and 50 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season.
MLB All-Star Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuna Jr. hits a ball to Japanese junior high school students during MLB All Stars Baseball clinic as part of All-Stars Series baseball games at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018. (AP PhotoEugene Hoshiko)
Ohtani is the first Japanese player to win the honor since Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 and the fourth overall.
Andujar hit .297 with 27 homers and 92 RBIs in 149 games. The 23-year-old third baseman set a Yankees rookie record with 47 doubles, three more than Joe DiMaggio in 1936, and tied the AL rookie mark for doubles set by Boston's Fred Lynn in 1975.
Torres, 21, began the season at Triple-A after missing the second half of 2017 with a torn ligament in his non-throwing arm. The second baseman made his big league debut April 22 and hit .271 with 24 homers and 77 RBIs.
The 20-year-old Acuna received 27 first-place votes and three seconds for 144 points. Soto got two firsts and 89 points, and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was next with one first and 28 points.
Acuna started the season at Triple-A and made his debut on April 25, the youngest player in the majors then at 20 years, 128 days. The Venezuelan hit .293 with 26 homers, 64 RBIs and 16 steals with a .917 OPS. He set a Braves record with eight leadoff homers this season and tied a franchise mark by homering in five straight games from Aug. 11-14.
Soto debuted on May 20 at 19 years, 207 days, although in a quirk the Dominican is credited with a home run from five days before his debut — he went deep on June 18 against the New York Yankees in the completion of the May 15 suspended game. Soto hit .292 with 22 homers, 70 RBIs and a .923 OPS. He was two shy of Tony Conigliaro's big league record for home runs by a teenager.
Buehler, a 23-year-old right-hander, was 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA in 23 starts and one relief appearance.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Sophia Smith had options but in the end felt like she “wasn't done” in Portland.
The Thorns announced Wednesday that they signed Smith to a contract extension through 2025, with a player option for 2026. Portland says the deal gives the 23-year-old forward the highest annual salary in the National Women's Soccer League but would not disclose terms.
"I’ve felt so welcomed and so loved and so believed in, and I just felt like I wasn’t done here. And there’s still things that I want to do with this team and this club and trophies I want to win," she said. "And just with new ownership coming in, I have already felt that this club is just going in the right direction.”
The Thorns were sold in January to the Bhathal family, which is also part of the ownership group of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
FILE - Portland Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith (9) controls the ball during an NWSL soccer match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, Sunday, March 24, 2024, in Portland, Ore. Sophia Smith had options but in the end felt like she “wasn't done” in Portland. The Thorns announced Wednesday, March 27, that they have signed Smith to a contract extension through 2025, with a player option for 2026. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman, FIle)
Smith is embarking on her fifth season with the Thorns. She was the NWSL's most valuable player and the U.S. Soccer player of the year in 2022. She was also the NWSL championship game MVP that year. She was set to become a free agent after this season and had some interest from European clubs.
“It’s a new era for us and the Bhathal family have been very clear of the vision that they have for this club. And we’re all aligned in that vision. And one of the key ingredients was to make sure that Sophia Smith was here,” general manager Karina LeBlanc said. “For her, this is a place she always wanted to be. For her to sign this contract, I think we’re eight months ahead of when she actually could have made it play out. She’s like, ‘I just wanted to get the season going and I just wanted this to be done.’”
Smith was the top pick in the NWSL draft in 2020 after helping Stanford to a victory over North Carolina in the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship. She scored three goals in the Cardinal's semifinal victory over UCLA and was named the College Cup's most valuable player.
She has scored 40 goals across all competitions with the Thorns, and her 11 goals last season — in 17 matches — earned her the league's Golden Boot award.
A regular on the U.S. national team, Smith played in last summer's Women's World Cup. She has scored 16 goals in 44 appearances since her U.S. debut in 2020.
Speaking to a small group of reporters on the eve of the team's announcement, Smith said she wants to take a greater leadership role on the Thorns.
“I don’t believe anyone is perfect or any player has hit their full potential ever. So I think for me, I want to grow into more of a leadership role on this team. I want to be a player that kind of brings everyone around me into games,” she said. “I think that’s a big thing for me, is being less individual and bringing my teammates into games, whatever that looks like, and just kind of making this team something really special and contributing to that in any way that I can.”
Smith credited the new ownership with making her more comfortable. The team had been put up for sale in late 2022 after a misconduct scandal involving a former Thorns coach shook the league.
"I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” she said. “Their vision for this club is so exciting. You can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be, and continuing to push the standard in women’s soccer globally, and making the Portland Thorns a center of that and in any way that they can.”
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