Shohei Otani was surrounded on all sides.

Commissioner Rob Manfred (Rob Manfred) is standing on either side of a shoulder. Interpreter Suwon Ippei followed close behind. Around them, a large group of other Major League Baseball staff lurked in an oversized circle, and a few minutes before the opening of the World Series last month, they took the Angels’ two-way star through Houston Minute Maid. The crowded corridors of the source park.

It is rare for baseball players to look like movie stars. Their simple presence draws attention to the gravity of their orbit.

But there are not many baseball players like Otani. His 2021 season with the Angels not only captured the imagination of the sport, but also redefined the limits that once seemed to be accomplished by a single player.

This is why he became one of the league's biggest draws this year, hitting 46 homers with 100 RBI, and beating 156 batters with an average score of 3.18 in the start of 23 pitches.

This is why Manfred called Otani in front of dozens of media members before the Fall Classics to use the national stage to announce the 27-year-old young man as the 16th winner of the Special Commissioner’s Historical Achievement Award.

This is why, on Thursday night, Otani not only won the American League MVP as expected, but also won the first place with all 30 votes.

Angel double star Otani Shohei won the Midland MVP honor by unanimous voting

The Angels star Otani Shohei is a top hitter and powerful starting pitcher who provided a once-in-a-lifetime season and won him a consistent AL MVP honor.

His performance is unprecedented. That historic. That unique.

"Getting it consistently makes it more special," Otani said through Mizuhara, "and helps me stay motivated to provide excellent data for myself and the team."

After Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies defeated Juan Soto of the Washington Nationals and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres to be named National League MVPs, Otani smiled because of the Hall of Famers Frank Thomas announced his landmark choice.

Ohtani became the fourth Angels player to win the MVP award, followed by Don Baylor (1979), Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2004) and Mike Trout (2014, 2016, 2019); following Ichiro Suzuki in 2001 After that, the second Japanese-born winner; and the 19th unanimous selection, this was Trout's last feat in 2014.

However, no past champion has had a season like his.

Now, as autumn turns into winter, the fabulous trance of his unforgettable season fades into the past, and with it comes questions about the future.

This is just a magical year, an amazing but unsustainable outbreak, will never happen again? Or can Otani really maintain such an atmospheric altitude and turn the once seemingly impossible challenge into an annual challenge?

When asked in Houston that night, Otani initially changed direction, trying to downplay speculation about the future. But in the end, he did give the answer and clarified his expectations for the future.

"I am very confident that I can repeat what I did this year," Otani said. "I just need to play every day and get good results. I think I can at least have a season similar to this year."

Twelve months ago, Otani's future in both roles was in doubt.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2018 Major League Baseball rookie season, he has not yet fully returned to the mound. As knee surgery shortened his 2019 campaign, his performance on the plate was affected.

When general manager Perry Minasian was hired a year ago, many of his early conversations with club coaches and staff revolved around how to take advantage of Otani’s attractive talents, and what to do in 2021. Way to use him?

Soon after, the Angels’ now well-documented plan was concretized: They lifted restrictions on Ohtani's use — removed the established rules about how often he went to the mound, when he took vacations, etc. — and replaced it with His feelings determine his workload throughout the year.

Looking back at these discussions during the league general manager meeting in Carlsbad, California last week, Minasian grinned at how it all started.

"Obviously," he said, "it succeeded."

Indeed, Otani's work is shocking.

He played 158 games. He cast more than 130 innings. He avoided any stop on the injured list. Due to random setbacks, he only missed the start of a few pitches, such as blistering fingers in April and sore thumbs hit by a stray foul ball in a dugout in July.

He also showed almost no signs of fatigue. As the season progressed, his number of shots increased, which was a by-product of his improved control of fastballs and his ability to work more deeply in the game. In the game, his only long-term downturn occurred in August and early September, when the Angels' lineup made it easier for opponents to pitch around him.

"In retrospect, I didn't really feel tired or tired during this season," Otani said before the team's final game. "I can play at a good rhythm every day. I have maintained this state throughout the season."

Hernández: Shohei Ohtani achieved his goal of becoming the best. Where is the angel in his future?

Shohei Ohtani wanted to be the best player in the best baseball world, and he achieved this goal with the AL MVP honor. But can he win the World Series with the Angels?

Ohtani's final statistics also include an average batting rate of 0.257, an on-base plus hit rate of 0.965, 26 base steals and 96 walks as a batsman, as well as an impressive 9-2 record and 1.09 per game. Walk and hit the ball once as a pitcher. He attributed most of his success to the training program last offseason.

For the first time in his MLB career, he did not get injured or insisted on recovering, which allowed him to push himself in a way that he could not do in the past few years.

He accelerated his throwing plan and integrated bullpen training early in the offseason. He also did more field batting practice, trying to correct the mechanical problems that plagued him in the worst season of his career in 2020.

A visit to the Driveline training center near Seattle helps with these efforts. The same goes for a well-developed diet plan — including blood tests to determine which foods are best for his system — to help him gain weight and build muscle, especially in his lower body.

The benefits begin to show up in the early days of spring training. At his third bullpen meeting, he was overshadowed by a speed of 100 miles per hour. In the first week of the Cactus League game, he hit a 460-foot home run.

After the start of the regular season, he incorporated effective routines into his new daily game schedule with the Angels.

Instead of traditional pre-match batting practice on the court, he saves energy by efficiently training in the clubhouse batting cage.

"This guy is a well-functioning machine," batting coach Jeremy Reid said. "From the first day I saw him for the first time until now, he just continues to understand himself better."

Between the start of each pitch, Ohtani replaced the traditional side play in the bullpen with regular training, such as weight-bearing exercises in the outfield, while Mizuhara monitored his efforts with the help of a pocket radar gun and digital readings from Ohtani, a small black belt. Wear it on his elbow.

"He regulates himself very, very well," pitching coach Matt Wise said. "Everyone is saying,'No one has ever done this before.' But the way he handled it allowed him to do what he did."

In the form of almost daily text messages and face-to-face conversations (usually with the help of Suwon), he continued to communicate with manager Joe Madden, Minassis and other team members to ensure that Otani stays strong and refreshed.

"He really knows himself very well," Madden said at the end of the season. "I think this is a contributing factor. This is the main ingredient."

It makes Ohtani the unanimous choice of the Baseball Writers Association. Most American MVP voters chose him instead of Toronto Blue Jays finalists Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Marcus Semien.

This also allows those closest to Otani to be consistent before the end of the year: as long as he stays healthy, he will undoubtedly be able to do all this again.

"This is what he intends to do," said Nez Balelo, Otani's agent at CAA Sports. "I think we are just beginning to touch the skin here. It would be interesting to see him go out and do this year after year. Because that's what he wants to do."

"I think this is sustainable for both parties," Madden responded, saying that he thinks Ohtani might cast 40 to 50 more rounds next year and benefit from the healthy lineups of Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. .

The most distressing game in the history of the Angels: 35 years later, it still haunts them

Thirty-five years later, Al Michaels said that the 5th game of the Red Sox Angels ALCS in 1986 was second only to the "Miracle on Ice" and was what he called the greatest game.

Minasian pointed out that he does not expect any changes to the use of Ohtani next season, and he has the same belief. He knows that everything he has witnessed this year is historical and worth more than all the applause, hardware, and attention that followed.

But he said that he thinks it also has the temperament of a repeatable routine, and hopes it can be the beginning of Ohtani's disappointing achievement-not the end.

"This is an important reason why we are talking about letting him play every day without fixed rules. Just enjoy the game and have fun," Minasian said. "This is what he did. I don't see any reason why I can't continue."

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Jack Harris is a sports reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Before becoming a staff writer for The Times, Harris worked as an intern at the newspaper. A native of Phoenix, he has previously reported on Arizona track and field sports for 247Sports, and has appeared in the Arizona Republic, Dallas Morning News, and San Jose Mercury News. His work has been recognized by the Professional Journalists Association and the Hearst Foundation.

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