It’s the eve of Election Day, and Shohei Ohtani has discovered himself on the poll.
The NL MVP poll, that is.
News broke on Monday that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way famous person was as one of three finalists for the 2026 National League Most Valuable Player Award, alonside Milwaukee Brewers infielder Brice Turang and Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Despite Ohtani’s well-documented struggles during the ultimate few months of the common season and the postseason, him advancing this far in the NL MVP race doesn’t come as a shock.
But this announcement feels completely different from previous years in one main method: Ohtani isn’t expected to win the award.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani walks to the dugout after hanging out in Game 4 of the NLCS in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Instead, Crow-Armstrong (aka “PCA”) is the favourite to win the NL MVP, which could imply Ohtani’s streak of three-straight unanimous MVP Award wins (he has 4 MVP Awards total) will come to an finish — even though voting is based mostly on regular-season efficiency and does not account for the postseason.
The stats present that PCA being the MVP favourite isn’t the byproduct of greatness fatigue with Ohtani.
The 24-year-old Cubs star had the benefit over Ohtani in WAR (9.8 to 6.5), residence runs (45 to 30), batting common (.280 to .275), and every other noteworthy offensive stat apart from Ob-Base Percentage (OBP), where Ohtani had a slight edge (.377 to .372).
Crow-Armstrong is also extensively regarded as the greatest defender in baseball, which will assist his MVP case. Ohtani didn’t play in the subject during 2026 apart from when he was on the mound.
Chicago Cubs heart fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a game-winning RBI double during the tenth inning against the New York Mets Thursday, June 25, 2026. Robert Sabo for NY Post
Of course, Ohtani’s pitching prowess has been pivotal in him successful the previous three MVP awards, the last two of which have been with the Dodgers.
But he was relegated to being primarily a hitter this previous season, given several accidents he endured that restricted him to 85.2 innings pitched during the common season.
Ohtani’s last pitching look was against the San Diego Padres on July 3.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani celebrates his three-run residence run against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
The 2026 NL MVP Award winner will be announced on November 12 on MLB Network at 4 p.m. PT.
Ohtani was the lone Dodger to end in the prime three in balloting for any of the 5 BBWAA Awards, which contains the MVP Award, the Cy Young Award, the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, the Manager of the Year Award and the Reliever of the Year Award.