More than a month after signing with the Dodgers and just three weeks before reporting to spring training, Shohei Ohtani finally closed the chapter on his tenure with the Angels when he accepted his 2023 American League MVP award on Saturday night. Ohtani shared a dais with Major League Baseball’s other award winners, including NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, at the 99th New York Baseball Writers’ Dinner. He spent the night seated next to his longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. He wore a dark blue velvet suit with a black dress shirt and bow tie.
The original plan was for actor Will Ferrell to introduce Ohtani, but Ferrell backed out just days before the event due to a scheduling conflict. Instead, Dusty Baker, the former Dodgers star outfielder who just retired as manager of the Houston Astros, presented Ohtani with an introduction that drew some laughs from the crowd. Ohtani then read a two-minute speech entirely in English.
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