*This content was translated by AI.
Major League Baseball (MLB) superstar Shohei Ohtani (32, Los Angeles Dodgers) ranked No. 1 in player power in the 2026 season.
Prior to the opening of the 2026 season on the 24th (Korea time), MLB.com , the official website of the Major League, selected and announced the players' power ranking from 1st to 100th. Unfortunately, not a single Korean player was included.
Ohtani showed the dignity of ranking first for two consecutive seasons this season following last season.
MLB.com said, "It's not surprising that Otani ranked No. 1 in the power rankings," adding, "He once again ranked No. 1 in the player's power rankings, just like the 2022 and 2023 seasons and the 2025 seasons (although he fell to fourth place in the 2024 season). Having been selected as MVP four times (all unanimously), he recorded the most home runs (55) in a single season in the Dodgers' history last season. He also praised him for ranking first overall in the league in scoring (146 points) and Ruta (380 hits).
"Otani performed brilliantly last season when he returned as a pitcher. In a total of 47 innings, he recorded 62 strikeouts and allowed only nine walks. He had a 2.87 ERA. The Dodgers won the World Series for two consecutive seasons after winning the postseason. During that period, Ohtani only showed the play that he could play," he added.
Ohtani wrote a new history of 50 home runs and 50 steals for the first time in the major leagues in the 2024 season. In 159 games, he played a batting average of 0.310 (197 hits in 636 at-bats), 54 home runs, 38 doubles, seven triples, 134 runs with 130 RBIs, 162 strikeouts with 81 walks, a on-base percentage of 0.390 (4 failures), a slugging percentage of 0.646 and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.066. He ranked second in home runs, RBIs, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS in the National League.
In the 2025 season, Ohtani then played in 158 games with a batting average of 0.282, 55 home runs, 102 RBIs, 20 steals, and 1.014 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS). He ranked first in the National League scoring category, No. 1 in the OPS, and No. 2 in the home run category with 50 home runs and 100 RBIs for two consecutive seasons. In addition, Ohtani pitched in 14 games as a pitcher in the 2025 season, posting a 1-1 record and a 2.87 ERA. After returning as a pitcher in the middle of last year, he plans to work as both a pitcher and a batter again starting this season.
After Ohtani, Aaron Judge, the super star of the New York Yankees, took second place. Judge is again ranked second after the 2023 and 2025 seasons.
"If you weren't playing at the same time as the most talented baseball player on the planet (Otani), Judge would have taken the first place," the media said. "He has been ranked second three times in the last four years (3rd in the 2024 season). Judge, a three-time American League MVP, ranked first overall in the majors in on-base percentage (0.457), slugging percentage (0.688), OPS (1.145), on-base count (310), intentional four (36), and FanGraphs WAR (10.1). He also led the American League in runs (137 points), walks (124), long balls (85), and runs (372-base hits).
After Ohtani and Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals), Carl Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), and Jose Ramirez (Claveland Guardians) came in fifth. No. 6 was Juan Soto (New York Mets), No. 7 Paul Skins (Pittsburgh Pirates), No. 8 Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers), No. 9 Corbin Carroll (Arizona Diamondbacks), and No. 10 was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays).
Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who won the World Series MVP title last year, was 13th. In the Dodgers, Mookie Betts (18th) and Will Smith (20th) ranked in the top 20 after Ohtani and Yamamoto. Kyle Tucker was ranked 21st and Freddie Freeman was ranked 22nd. On the other hand, none of the players currently playing in the big league have ranked in the top 100.
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*This content was translated by AI.
