Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has redefined what a two-way player can look like in the modern era of baseball. Ohtani is coming off a 2025 season in which he won his fourth MVP and second straight World Series championship.
The 31-year-old has been a problem at the plate for pitchers in 2026, with the slugger tied for 13th in batting average (.295), tied for 17th in home runs (17), and fourth in OPS (.963). On the mound, the Japan native is arguably having the best pitching season of his career. If eligible innings-wise, his 1.58 ERA would rank second in the majors, and his 0.90 WHIP would rank fifth, with both being the lowest marks of his career.
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On Thursday, ESPN announced the nominations for the 2026 ESPYS awards. Ohtani's name was littered throughout the award categories, with the designated hitter leading all players with three nominations. An award Ohtani won last year, the Best MLB Player category, features the New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, the Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh, and the Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes as competition.
Ohtani is known to take over games, so it comes as no surprise he was nominated for the Best Single-Game Performance category. The four-time Silver Slugger Award winner is nominated for Game 4 of the NLCS, when, against the Milwaukee Brewers, he struck out six batters while pitching six straight scoreless innings and hitting three home runs.
Baylor baseball's Tyce Armstrong, who hit three grand slams in a single game, represents the second baseball player in the category. Hannah Hidalgo of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who broke the record for steals in a game with 16, and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, who scored 83 points in a game, round out the Best Single-Game Performance category nominees.
Of course, the most prized ESPYS award of them all, the Best Athlete in Men's Sports category, would have Ohtani's name on the ballot. The 2026 NBA Finals MVP, Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks, Inter Miami CF's Lionel Messi, and the Los Angeles Rams' Matthew Stafford are the other nominees.
The award show will be hosted by Marcello Hernandez at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City on July 15 at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
