For the first time since 2022, Shohei Ohtani did not win an MVP award. But the Dodgers superstar designated hitter and starting pitcher did finish second in voting for the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player, finishing behind Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Crow-Armstrong won the award unanimously, receiving all 30 first-place votes. Ohtani got 26 second-place votes, two third-place votes, and three fourth-place votes.
Ohtani is the first player in major league history to finish
in the top three in MVP voting in six years in a row, along with his wins in 2021 and 2023 with the Angels then in 2024 and 2025 with the Dodgers, and a second-place finish in 2022. Hall of Famer Ted Williams finished in the top three in American League MVP voting in six consecutive seasons in which he played, finishing second in 1941 and 1942 followed by an MVP wins in 1946 and 1949, sandwiching a second-place finish in 1947 and third place in 1948, interrupted only by three years of military service in the Marines during World War II.
Ohtani is the only player to finish in the top two in MVP voting for six straight years.
Through he was hampered by injuries to his left knee and right biceps that kept him from pitching after July 3 and helped fuel a 155-plate-appearance homerless skid after August 18, Ohtani still managed to hit .275/.377/.512 with a 139 wRC+, and 30 home runs, along with a 1.79 ERA and 2.73 xERA in 14 starts and 85 2/3 innings. Though his total 6.5 bWAR was his lowest total in the last six years, it still tied for the 72nd-best season in Dodgers history.
Coupled with his two MVP wins in 2024 and 2025, Ohtani is the third Dodger with three top-three MVP finishes. Catcher Roy Campanella won three MVPs, in 1951, 1953, and 1955 with Brooklyn, and pitcher Sandy Koufax won NL MVP in 1963 for Los Angeles, then finished second in both 1965 and 1966.
Nine Dodgers have finished in the top three of NL MVP voting in multiple years.
The only other Dodgers player to receive an NL MVP vote was center fielder Andy Pages, who got a single sixth-place vote (from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle) for five total points, trying for 18th place.
