Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles Angels’ two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named the American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Monday, snatching 25 of 30 first place votes.
New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar earned the other five votes, finishing in second place.
Ohtani, 24, is the third Angels player to earn the award, joining Tim Salmon (1993) and Mike Trout (2012), and the fourth Japanese-born player to receive the title in the majors, following Hideo Nomo (1995), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000) and Ichiro Suzuki (2001).
As a designated hitter in 82 games, Ohtani had a batting average of .285 in his rookie season, with 22 home runs, 61 RBI and 59 runs scored. He bested all rookies in the American League in on-base percentage (.361) and slugging percentage (.564).
Starting as a pitcher in 10 games, Ohtani went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts over 51.2 innings pitched.
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