Major League Baseball revealed the 2023 Hank Aaron Award winners: Shohei Ohtani, who earned the award twice while playing for the Los Angeles Angels, and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves.

The league’s best offensive players are honored with the Hank Aaron Awards. A group of MLB.com writers selected nine finalists for each league from the list of nominees submitted by each club for consideration as the Hank Aaron Award.

The award is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball, and the winners are chosen by adding the votes of a select panel of Hall of Fame players and past winners. Two-time Aaron Award winner Albert Pujols is on the panel along with Hall of Famers Craig Biggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter (two-time winner), Chipper Jones, Pedro Martínez, Eddie Murray, David Ortiz (two-time winner), John Smoltz, and Robin Yount.

Acuña, in his sixth season in the Major League, created history in 2023 when he set modern-era franchise records with 149 runs scored, 73 stolen bases, and 383 total bases. He also became the first player in MLB history to record at least 40 home runs and 70 stolen bases in a single season. He became just the sixth player in history to hit at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season en route to his 40/70 campaign.

In almost every offensive measure, including batting average (.337), on-base percentage (.416), OPS (1.012), runs, hits (217), doubles (35), RBI (106), stolen bases, walks (80), and total bases, the 25-year-old Venezuelan native set career highs.

The four-time All-Star joined an elite group that included Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein, Babe Ruth, and Hack Wilson as one of just seven players in Major League history to record at least 200 hits, 100 RBI, 145 runs scored, and 40 home runs in a single season. Acuña Jr. tied Rickey Henderson, the Hall of Famer, for the second-most home runs and stolen bases in a season with 12 games (13 in 1986).

Along with Hall of Famers Willie Mays (1957–58) and Henderson (1990), the 2018 Jackie Robinson NL Rookie of the Year Award winner led all NL players in fan vote for the All-Star Game for a third consecutive season and led their league in both stolen bases and OPS.

Ohtani, who is likewise in his sixth Major League season, won his third straight Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award and his second MVP prize in three seasons with a slugging total of 44 home runs and 95 RBI.

The 29-year-old Oshu, Japan native also scored.304, leading the AL in on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654), and on-base percentage (1.066), along with 102 runs scored, 26 doubles, eight triples, and 20 stolen bases. In addition, Ohtani led the AL in extra-base hits (78), home runs (325), and total bases (325).

On June 12–17, Ohtani became one of the only players in Major League history to record an extra-base hit, walk, and run scored in six straight games, joining Babe Ruth (seven games in 1921) and Barry Bonds (six games in 1997). The winner of the 2018 Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year Award became the only player in the Majors to record at least six triples and 34 home runs for a third consecutive season.

Furthermore, Ohtani became one of the few Angels players in history to conclude a season as the AL home run leader, joining Troy Glaus (47 home runs in 2000). The two-way star, who was selected to the All-Star Game as both a pitcher and position player for a third consecutive season after finishing as the AL’s leading vote-getter, hit.372 with three doubles, two triples, seven homers, and 15 RBI in his 23 games as a starting pitcher.

After earning the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in the same season (2018), Acuña and Ohtani joined the ranks of the first two players to win their respective league’s MVP Award in the same season. All in all, they were the seventh MVP Award-winning duo in a season to have been Rookie of the Year winners at some point in the past.

Past recipients of the Hank Aaron AwardPast winners of the Hank Aaron Award include Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt (2022), Vladmir Guerrero Jr. and Bryce Harper (2021), José Abreu and Freddie Freeman (2020), Mike Trout and Christian Yelich (2019), J.D. Martinez and Christian Yelich (2018), Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Altuve (2017), Kris Bryant and David Ortiz (2016), Josh Donaldson and Bryce Harper (2015), Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout (2014), Miguel Cabrera and Paul Goldschmidt (2013), Miguel Cabrera and Buster Posey (2012), José Bautista and Matt Kemp (2011), José Bautista and Joey Votto (2010), Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols (2009), Aramis Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis (2008), Alex Rodriguez and Prince Fielder (2007), Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard (2006), David Ortiz and Andruw Jones (2005), Manny Ramirez and Barry Bonds (2004), Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols (2003), Alex Rodriguez and Barry Bonds (2001-02), Carlos Delgado and Todd Helton (2000) and Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa (1999).

The Hank Aaron Award was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record and, at that time, was the first major award introduced by Major League Baseball in more than 25 years.