Did Shohei Ohtani think he should've won MVP over Aaron Judge?

It appears Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani thought he'd win American League Most Valuable Player over New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge last fall. 

"I know he’s determined to have an even better year from last year," Angels manager Phil Nevin said of Ohtani during an appearance on SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio, as shared by Brian Wacker of the New York Post. "He wasn’t happy about not winning the MVP, I can tell you that. But he wants to win first and foremost." 

Ohtani earned AL MVP honors for 2021 and then made history by becoming the first player to qualify for the leaderboards both as a pitcher and a hitter for the same season last year. 

Per the MLB website, the 28-year-old finished the 2022 campaign fourth in the AL with 34 home runs and seventh with 95 RBI. He also slashed .273/.356/.519 and posted a 15-9 pitching record with a 2.33 ERA and 219 strikeouts across 166 innings. 

As noted by ESPN, Judge led all of MLB with 62 homers (a new all-time AL single-season record), 131 RBI (tied with Pete Alonso of the New York Mets), and a 1.111 OPS. He was fifth among all eligible players with a .311 batting average. 

According to MLB, the final voting for AL MVP wasn't all that close. Judge earned 28 first-place votes and two second-place votes for 410 points, while Ohtani received only a pair of first-place votes and had 280 points. 

It was reported last month that Ohtani could receive a contract worth a total of $500 million if he hits free agency following this coming season. On Jan. 25, Andy Martino of SNY noted that big-spending Mets owner Steve Cohen had "already been talking openly to upper-level Mets people about going after Ohtani this winter." 

A perceived MVP snub may have given Ohtani additional reasons to impress in 2023.