Shohei Ohtani Winning Legendary Moment of the Year Award for NLCS Game 4 Heroics Has Fans Losing It: “Did They Just Make up an Award for Him”

Shohei Ohtani slammed 3 home runs and picked up 10 strikeouts in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 5-0 Game 4 NLCS win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Shohei Ohtani Winning Legendary Moment of the Year Award for NLCS Game 4 Heroics Has Fans Losing It: “Did They Just Make up an Award for Him”

Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)

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A day before the MVPs of the American League and the National League are announced, Shohei Ohtani received another award. The Japanese international took home the Legendary Moment of the Year award for his heroics in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

The NLCS matchup this year saw the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Milwaukee Brewers. The LA-based outfit had struggled against the Brewers in the regular season and got swept in both the 3-game series.

The Brewers eventually finished the year with the best record in the league at 97-65 and took the No.1 seed in the National League. The Dodgers, meanwhile, finished with a 93-69 record and were forced to play in the Wild Card Series as the third seed team.

After overcoming the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers faced off against the Brewers. In the postseason, things were completely opposite for both the teams.

The Dodgers won Games 1, 2 and 3 and entered Game 4 with a sweep on their minds. Ohtani started on the mound and assumed the two-way role in this game.

After picking up 3 strikeouts in the first inning, he smashed a solo home run in the next frame to put the Dodgers on board. In the 4th inning, he crushed his 2nd home run of the game and extended his team’s lead to 4-0 nothing.

As the starting pitcher, Ohtani would pitch 6 scoreless innings and pick up 10 strikeouts. He would leave the field to a massive standing ovation from the fans at Dodger Stadium.

In the 7th inning, the Japanese international went yard again. On a 1-2 pitch against Trevor Megill, he hit his 3rd solo home run of the game and put the Dodgers 5-0 up. His side went on to win this game comfortably and complete a 4-0 NLCS sweep of the Brewers.

The reigning National League MVP went 3-for-3 in this game with 3 home runs and 10 strikeouts. This performance has earned him the 2025 Legendary Moment of the Year award.

Ohtani hit 3 more home runs in the World Series and ended the postseason with 8 home runs and 14 RBIs while batting with a .265. Despite a rough pitching start in Game 7, Ohtani and his team ended the night celebrating as they came from behind and won 5-4 and clinched their 9th World Series title.

Social media reacts to Shohei Ohtani winning Legendary Moment of the Year Award

Shohei Ohtani had an incredible showing in both departments in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers. That performance earned him the Legendary Moment of the Year award.

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via X/@BRWalkoff)

Fans on social media have gone into a frenzy following this announcement by the MLB. While some celebrated another triumph of the 31-year-old, some questioned whether this was an actual award or not. One user on X wrote, “did they just make up an award for him” while reacting to it.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

As pointed out by some fans, this is an actual award. Brett Phillips won this award in 2020 for his iconic walk-off winner in Game 4 of the World Series against the Dodgers. Jorge Soler took home this honor in 2021 following his massive 3-run blast in World Series Game 6.

Albert Pujols then won this award in 2022 following his 700th career home run. Adolis Garcia won this title in 2023 for his Game 1 walk-off home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last year, it was Ohtani’s teammate, Freddie Freeman, who was named as the winner of this accolade following his walk-off grand slam in World Series Game 1.

Shohei Ohtani heavy favorite to win NL MVP award again

Shohei Ohtani started off the 2025 campaign from where he left off the 2024 one. Once again, the designated hitter (DH) was one of the standout players in baseball. He is the heavy favorite to be crowned the NL MVP winner on Thursday

Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani (Image via Imago)

The two-way star was the unanimous winner of this award last year after he founded the 50-50 club. He ended the 2024 season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases.

This year, he returned to his two-way style of play and resumed pitching. He had not thrown a single pitch in the 2024 season following a surgery.

In the 2025 season, Ohtani became the first batter after Alex Rodriguez in 2002 to hit 50 home runs in back-to-back seasons and ended the campaign with 55 home runs.

Kyle Schwarber and Juan Soto are the other two candidates for this award. While Schwarber has one home run from than Ohtani, his team suffered an NLDS exit at the hands of the Dodgers. Meanwhile, Soto’s New York Mets had a disappointing end to the season and failed to qualify for the postseason following a massive slump in the second half.

If Ohtani ends up winning the award, it will be his 4th MVP award. He will then become the player with the 2nd most MVP awards wins. Barry Bonds is currently the leader of this, having won 7 (4 straight from 2001 to 2004) in his career.

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