It is no surprise who the Associated Press chose to be their Male Athlete of the Year for 2024 after his record setting year in Major League Baseball. Japanese two way player Shohei Ohtani earned his third Athlete of the Year Award tying basketball star and NASCAR team owner Michael Jordan.
Jordan and Ohtani are one short of the of four wins held by Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, and LeBron James. But Golfer Babe Didrikson holds the all time record with six wins.
Speaking through translator Matt Hidaka, Ohtani said, “I’m very honoured. Obviously all the hard work has paid off. Maybe next year, I’ll get the award again.”
He added, “growing up in Japan, I did follow Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. I would see their accolades and how they were successful in the United States.”
Ohtani received 48 of the 74 votes cast for the award. French Olympic swimmer Leon Marchand who took home four gold medals at the Pairs Games came in second with 10 votes with gold medal and Masters winner Scottie Scheffler taking third with nine votes.
He also won the award in 2021 and 2023.
It was a big year for Ohtani who earned his third MVP Award, was a part of the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers, and set a new record with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases. And he married Mamiko Tanaka earlier this year.