Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin says Shohei Ohtani wasn't thrilled to fall short of a second consecutive American League MVP win last season.
"I know he's determined to have an even better year than last year. He wasn't happy about not winning the MVP, I can tell you that," Nevin told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM. "But he wants to win, first and foremost. He's excited about the pieces that we added."
Ohtani finished runner-up to New York Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge after the latter broke the AL single-season record with 62 home runs.
However, the two-way superstar arguably had a better 2022 campaign than his unprecedented MVP-winning season in 2021. His fWAR was 9.4 last year - higher than the 8.0 he amassed during his MVP season. Judge collected 28 of 30 first-place votes thanks to an MLB-best 10.6 fWAR.
Ohtani is slated to become a free agent after 2023. The 28-year-old is expected to shatter financial records if he hits the open market.
