The Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and new L.A. Dodger Shohei Ohtani won the 2023 Hank Aaron Awards on Saturday, presented by Major League Baseball to the most outstanding offensive performer in each league.
The MLB award is picked by fan balloting combined with votes from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners, a group that this year included former Atlanta Braves Chipper Jones and John Smoltz plus Johnny Bench, Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, Albert Pujols, David Ortiz and Robin Yount.
Acuña and Ohtani also won Most Valuable Awards last month in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Ohtani was the first two-time unanimous MVP.
Acuña was a unanimous winner of his first NL MVP after becoming the first big leaguer with 40 homers and 70 stolen bases in a season. He was second in the NL with a .336 batting average for the Braves and led the major leagues with 149 runs, 217 hits, 386 total bases and 73 stolen bases while hitting 41 home runs with 106 RBIs.
Ohtani became a free agent after the season and left the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He led the AL with 44 homers and hit .304 with 96 RBIs, eight triples and 20 stolen bases in a season at the plate that ended Sept. 3 because of an oblique injury.
