Shohei Ohtani is the AP's Male Athlete of the Year for record-tying 4th time

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is catching up with more legends.

The baseball superstar ends 2025 by winning The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, tying him with Lance Armstrong, LeBron James and Tiger Woods for most among male honorees.

“Receiving this award multiple times is something truly special,” Ohtani said in Japanese in an exclusive interview with the AP.

Ohtani received 29 of 47 votes in balloting among sports journalists from the AP and its members after his two-way dominance culminated in a repeat World Series title for his Los Angeles Dodgers – delivering perhaps the greatest single-game individual performance in sports history along the way. He previously won the award in 2024, his first season with the Dodgers, and in 2023 and 2021, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels.

The AP honor has been given out since 1931. Multisport standout Babe Didrikson Zaharias won six times over the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, the most by a man or woman.

The ultra-competitive Ohtani’s latest win broke a tie with Michael Jordan, who along with Woods, he followed while growing up in Japan.

“Last year, I said I wanted to win this award again, and I will work hard so that I can win it again next year as well,” he said.

Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who won his third consecutive world title and has set the world record 14 times, including four times in 2025, was second with five votes in balloting announced Tuesday. Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s top-ranked tennis player who won titles at the French and U.S. Opens, was third with four.

The AP Female Athlete of the Year will be announced Wednesday.

Ohtani has shown remarkable consistency since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers on a then-record $700 million, 10-year contract in December 2023.

He won his fourth career Most Valuable Player award (second with the Dodgers) by unanimous vote, the first player in major league history to do so.

This year, he posted a 1.014 OPS and hit 55 home runs. Returning to the mound for the first time since 2023, he had a 2.87 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 47 innings over 14 starts.

Ohtani saved his best for the postseason.

In Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, he pitched six scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and hit three home runs to earn MVP honors. He said it was his greatest game in a career full of incredible feats.

“If you think about it in terms of a single game, I’d say that’s probably true,” he said. “It was a crucial game in the postseason, and I personally feel I played quite well in that game.”

Does he surprise himself?

“Well, yes, there are times when I feel that way about myself, and of course there are times when I think I’m not good enough,” he said, “so I suppose athletes experience both kinds of feelings.”

Ohtani showed he’s human in Game 7 of the World Series. He singled in the first inning and then took the mound on short rest, but he struggled with his command. He gave up a three-run homer to Toronto’s Bo Bichette along with five hits in 2 1/3 innings.

But he and the Dodgers raised a second straight World Series trophy after outlasting the Blue Jays in the most scintillating Series in recent memory.

“Shohei obviously has the weight of the world on his shoulders as far as expectations, being probably the face of baseball, certainly when you’re talking about the world,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Game 7. “It’s just really special what he’s done. Just a great person and a great competitor.”

Ohtani’s presence has been transformative for MLB’s global reach. Game 7 of this World Series averaged 13.1 million viewers in Japan, the most-watched World Series game on a single network there ever, and 51 million watched worldwide to make it the most-viewed since Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.

“I think the higher your goals are, the more you have to do, and the more you want to do,” he said. “If you’re satisfied with where you are now, I don’t think it’s possible to achieve your goals without putting in the effort. So, setting goals high is what I believe is most important.”

The Dodgers carefully managed Ohtani’s return to pitching this year by gradually increasing his workload after rehabbing from elbow surgery in September 2023. His innings were initially capped before he was allowed to make longer starts as he felt better.

“When it comes to feeling nervous, being on the mound definitely makes me more tense,” he said. “It’s a position where you can single-handedly ruin a game, and at the same time, it’s also a position where you can contribute to a win. So, in my mind, I feel that being a pitcher is truly a special role.”

At 31, Ohtani has undergone three major surgeries: two on his right elbow and another on his left shoulder. Regardless of the physical and mental wear and tear, he plans on remaining a two-way player his entire career.

“I think it’s best to keep doing it right up until the moment I retire,” he said.

Ohtani plans to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March.

“I’m still not sure whether I’ll be pitching,” he said. “I’ve been given permission to play in the tournament, but as for how much and in what way, including on the batting side, that’s something we’ll be discussing.”

Winning a third consecutive World Series championship is among Ohtani’s biggest goals in 2026.

“Staying healthy and appearing in every game without injury, that’s the smallest goal I have,” he said.

Ohtani became a father for the first time when his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, gave birth to their daughter in April. He carefully guards against revealing her name and any details about his home life. No word on how his beloved dog Decoy reacted to having a new sibling, either.

Ohtani’s American fans enjoy hearing him speak English on the rare occasions he’s done so publicly, including at both World Series celebrations. He understands most of the language, although he uses an interpreter in interviews.

“I think it would be best if I could speak in English, so even if it’s just small steps, I want to keep working at it,” he said. “Whether it’s with fans or in different situations, being able to speak directly in English might help bridge the gap between us.”

In the meantime, he’ll keep letting his bat and arm speak volumes.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani poses for photos after an interview with The Associated Press in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani warms up on deck before a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani poses for photos after an interview with The Associated Press in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani lifts the trophy as the Dodgers celebrate after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of baseball's World Series, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani shares a laugh with his translator during an interview with The Associated Press in Pasadena, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Using U.S. forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States. The U.S. has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress.

“We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding that "it was seized for a very good reason.”

Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that it was conducted under U.S. law enforcement authority.

The Coast Guard members were taken to the oil tanker by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the official said. The Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships.

Video posted to social media by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from one of the helicopters involved in the operation as it hovers just feet from the deck.

The Coast Guard members can be seen later in the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawn.

Bondi wrote that “for multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”

Venezuela’s government said in a statement that the seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”

“Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. … It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people,” the statement said.

The U.S. official identified the seized tanker as the Skipper.

The ship departed Venezuela around Dec. 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of it belonging to a Cuban state-run oil importer, according to documents from the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A., commonly known as PDVSA, that were provided on the condition of anonymity because the person did not have permission to share them.

The Skipper was previously known as the M/T Adisa, according to ship tracking data. The Adisa was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group.

The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader, the U.S. Treasury Department said at the time.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day.

PDVSA is the backbone of the country’s economy. Its reliance on intermediaries increased in 2020, when the first Trump administration expanded its maximum-pressure campaign on Venezuela with sanctions that threaten to lock out of the U.S. economy any individual or company that does business with Maduro’s government. Longtime allies Russia and Iran, both also sanctioned, have helped Venezuela skirt restrictions.

The transactions usually involve a complex network of shadowy intermediaries. Many are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination.

Maduro did not address the seizure during a speech before a ruling-party organized demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. But he told supporters that the country is “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”

Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. seizing the oil tanker cast doubt on the administration’s stated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes.

“This shows that their whole cover story — that this is about interdicting drugs — is a big lie,” the senator said. “This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change — by force.”

Vincent P. O’Hara, a naval historian and author of “The Greatest Naval War Ever Fought,” called the seizure “very unusual” and "provocative." “As far as the principle of seizing ships on the high sea, that’s an important international question,” he said. “Nations go to war over that principle."

The seizure comes a day after the U.S. military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace. Trump has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered more details.

The Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 87 people in 22 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

Some legal experts and Democrats say that action may have violated the laws governing the use of deadly military force.

Lawmakers are demanding to get unedited video from the strikes, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders at a classified briefing Tuesday that he was still weighing whether to release it.

The Coast Guard referred a request for comment about the tanker seizure to the White House.

Goodman reported from Miami, and Garcia Cano from Caracas, Venezuela. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

This image from video posted on Attorney General Pam Bondi's X account, and partially redacted by the source, shows an oil tanker being seized by U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (U.S. Attorney General's Office/X via AP)

This image from video posted on Attorney General Pam Bondi's X account, and partially redacted by the source, shows an oil tanker being seized by U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (U.S. Attorney General's Office/X via AP)

Nicolas Maduro speaks at a rally marking the anniversary of the Battle of Santa Isabel, which took place during Venezuela's 19th-century Federal War, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)