Shohei Ohtani is once again among the protagonists of the Major Leagues’ individual awards. The Japanese superstar was announced as a finalist for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2026 season and aspires to win the fifth award of his career, a figure that would bring him closer to Barry Bonds’ all-time record.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star will compete for National League recognition with Pete Crow-Armstrong, of the Chicago Cubs, and Brice Turang, of the Milwaukee Brewers, a team that has just won the World Series.
At 32 years old, Ohtani seeks to become the first player to win four consecutive MVP awards since he won the distinctions in 2023, 2024 and 2025, after also obtaining the recognition in 2021.
The Japanese has built an extraordinary career both with the bat and from the mound. During the 2026 regular season he hit 30 home runs and posted a 1.79 ERA as a pitcher, statistics that once again support his candidacy.
If he wins the award, Ohtani would reach five MVPs and would be two away from the absolute record of Barry Bonds, who accumulated seven distinctions between 1990 and 2004, four of them consecutively.
The recognition would also represent an individual reward after a disappointing postseason for the Dodgers, who saw their bid for a third consecutive championship thwarted after being swept 4-0 by Milwaukee in the National League Championship Series.
Caminero and Álvarez challenge in the American League
The Latin American representation will have a special role in the American League voting, where two figures appear who shared the lead in home runs among the finalists.
The Dominican Junior Caminero, of the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Cuban Yordan Álvarez, of the Houston Astros, hit 42 home runs each during the regular season.
Caminero, 23, also drove in 101 runs and has just played his first World Series, while Álvarez, 29, finished with 106 RBIs, five more than the Dominican.
The third candidate is the American Bobby Witt Jr., of the Kansas City Royals, who will seek to retain recognition over the two Latin American representatives.
The winners of both awards will be announced on November 12, after voting by the Baseball Writers Association of North America (BBWAA).
