Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge jointly win the Hank Aaron Award, ushering in a new era of dual stars in modern baseball.

The MLB annual awards have been announced, with the two reigning regular season MVPs—Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees—both named the 2025 Hank Aaron Award winners. Ohtani becomes the first player since Alex Rodriguez (2001-03) to win this award three consecutive times.

Established in 1999, the Hank Aaron Award honors the best offensive player in each league, selected through a combination of fan voting and decisions by Hall of Famers and past winners. This year’s recipients emerged from a list of ten candidates in their respective leagues.

After a historic 2024 season, Judge continued to demonstrate dominant hitting this year. His impressive slash line of .331/.457/.688, combined with 53 home runs and 114 RBIs, along with a league-leading 215 OPS+, highlight his excellence. His 124 walks led the American League and he was the only qualified hitter with an on-base percentage above .400. Although postseason performance is not considered for the award, Judge hit 13 hits in 26 playoff at-bats and blasted a game-tying three-run homer in Game 3 of the AL Division Series.

Shohei Ohtani completed a three-peat of the Hank Aaron Award. While "Pitcher Ohtani" returned to the mound this season, "Hitter Ohtani" maintained MVP-level power. Following last year’s "50 homers and 59 steals," he set a personal record with 55 home runs this season, just one shy of National League home run leader Kyle Schwarber. As the Dodgers’ offensive catalyst, Ohtani led the majors with 146 runs scored and topped the NL with a .622 slugging percentage and a 1.014 OPS. His two-way value places him at the top of the NL offensive leaderboard.

Since the award’s inception, only Shohei Ohtani and Alex Rodriguez (2001-03) have achieved a three-peat. Now, both join A-Rod and Barry Bonds as the only players to win this award three times. These two superstars continue to dominate the hitting awards, extending their historic rivalry and propelling MLB into a "dual star era." With both athletes at their peak, the 2026 award competition is likely to be led by these two giants once again.