Japanese outlets call it a loss for Ohtani. The line he lost to explains why.
Daily Sports headlined the Players Choice Awards as a defeat for Shohei Ohtani. Pete Crow-Armstrong's 40-40 season beat him in both categories.
Key points
- Ohtani was a finalist for both Player of the Year and NL Outstanding Player in the players' vote. Crow-Armstrong won both, the players' union announced on Oct. 28.
- Ohtani hit .275 with 30 home runs and 81 RBIs, and went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 pitching appearances.
- Crow-Armstrong played all 162 games with 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases, the seventh player to reach 40-40.
On Oct. 29, Japan time, Daily Sports led its coverage of the Players Choice Awards with a headline that translates as "Ohtani loses to PCA." The players' union announced the awards, which are decided by player vote, on Oct. 28 in the United States. Ohtani was one of three finalists for both Player of the Year and NL Outstanding Player, as he was last season, and he won neither.
Both awards went to Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. He played all 162 games and hit 45 home runs, tied for the most in the majors, with 41 stolen bases. Daily Sports points out that only seven players have ever gone 40-40. He also hit .280 with 107 RBIs and led the National League with a .943 OPS, and the paper says his defense drew praise all year.
Ohtani's line reads differently because his season came in two parts. It was his ninth in the majors and the first in three years in which he opened as both pitcher and hitter. He finished at .275 with 30 home runs, 81 RBIs, 11 steals and an .889 OPS. On the mound he made 14 appearances and went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA. A left knee injury in June and a right biceps injury in July left him hitting only from July on, and he went on the injured list in September.
The Daily Sports piece is a results list with no quotes from players or officials. The framing is the story: for Japanese readers, finishing behind a rival in a players' vote still reads as a headline-worthy defeat for Ohtani.
Original Japanese headlines
大谷翔平、PCAに敗れる 選手会選出MVPと最優秀野手の受賞ならず いずれも最終候補入り 村上宗隆は新人賞逃す
Daily Sports, Oct. 29, 2026
Players in this storyShohei Ohtani
Our read
The two lines are hard to compare directly. Crow-Armstrong played every game, while Ohtani's year was cut up by injuries and split between a hitting line and a pitching line. Japanese headlines treat the result as a loss for Ohtani. The numbers say it was a very good season that ran into a season with more games played behind it.