Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge headlined the 101st New York Baseball Writers’ Gala on January 25, 2026, where they received their league MVP awards for the 2025 season. Ohtani delivered his acceptance speech in English, thanking the Dodgers organization and highlighting the award's significance. The event also honored other BBWAA award winners and introduced the first Most Valuable Dog award to Ohtani's pet, Decoy.
The 101st annual New York Baseball Writers’ Gala took place on Saturday night, January 25, 2026, at the Hilton in Midtown Manhattan, celebrating the 2025 Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards. Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way star, accepted his fourth career unanimous National League Most Valuable Player award. In 2025, Ohtani hit a career-high 55 home runs with a league-leading 1.014 OPS, while posting a 2.87 ERA and 33% strikeout rate over 14 pitching starts. He became the second player in MLB history with at least four MVPs, joining Barry Bonds, and the only one with three unanimous wins.
Ohtani spoke in English without an interpreter, a departure from his usual practice. "Thank you to the Dodgers organization for believing in me," he said. "To owner Mark Walter, who is here tonight, and the rest of the ownership group, the entire front office, especially Andrew Friedman and Jon Rosen also attending. To all my teammates and coaching staff, for helping and encouraging me throughout the year, I felt your support every day. A huge shoutout to the entire Dodgers staff behind the scenes, especially (security) Al Garcia, who is also here tonight. I appreciate you all."
He added, "To all the writers who voted for me, thank you. This MVP Award is very meaningful, and winning it again means so much to me." Ohtani also congratulated the 1986 Mets on their 40th World Series anniversary, noting, "I now know the feeling of what it’s like to become a world champion. And it’s great."
American League MVP Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees praised the night's honorees, saying, "To all the award winners up here tonight, this is just an incredible group." Judge led the majors in 2025 with a .331 batting average, .457 on-base percentage, .688 slugging, and 53 home runs.
Other winners included AL Cy Young Tarik Skubal (Tigers), NL Cy Young Paul Skenes (Pirates), NL Rookie Drake Baldwin (Braves), AL Rookie Nick Kurtz (Athletics), AL Manager Steven Vogt (Guardians), and NL Manager Pat Murphy (Brewers). A lighthearted highlight was the inaugural Most Valuable Dog award given to Ohtani's dog, Decoy, recognized for appearances at Dodger Stadium and red carpet events. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in December 2023.
