Shohei Ohtani is expected to win his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge is likely to earn his second AL honor when the Baseball Writers’ Association announces its balloting.

Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox have been selected Major League Baseball’s Comeback Players of the Year.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for his first National League MVP award after winning the AL honor twice, joined among the top three in NL voting by New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte.

The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t counting on Shohei Ohtani to pitch at the start of next season and will wait to see how his rehabilitation progresses following shoulder surgery on his non-throwing arm.

For a World Series that was supposed to feature an epic battle between sluggers Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, guys like Mark Leiter Jr., Luke Weaver, Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda sure got a lot of face time.

Agent Scott Boras indicated Juan Soto may be seeking to top Shohei Ohtani’s record $700 million contract because he is three years younger than the Japanese two-way star was when he reached his deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder, following an injury the Los Angeles Dodgers star suffered during Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26.

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent big last offseason before winning big this postseason, taking home a World Series title after committing more than $1 billion on players like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández.

Shohei Ohtani's dog, Decoy, made an appearance at the World Series victory parade.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have celebrated their eighth World Series championship with a downtown parade and a stadium gathering featuring Shohei Ohtani and other star players.

The Los Angeles Dodgers spent big bucks to beef up their roster with the additions of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto this season.

The World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but there’s a hearty celebration going on across the Pacific Ocean in Japan, too.

The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons, overcoming a five-run deficit with the help of three Yankees defensive miscues and rallying on sacrifice flies from Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts in the eighth inning to beat New York 7-6 in Game 5.

Shohei Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan is a rural place, famous for its high-quality Maesawa beef, its history of making traditional ironware and the intense green hills and mountains that surround it.

Freddie Freeman homered for the third straight game and Walker Buehler pitched another World Series gem as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 3-0 lead in the Fall Classic.

Freddie Freeman tied George Springer’s record of homering in five straight World Series games, hitting a two-run drive off the New York Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt in the first inning to put the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead 2-0 in World Series Game 3.

Hundreds of fans filed into a public viewing center in Shohei Ohtani’s hometown in northern Japan on Tuesday morning to cheer the country’s top celebrity in Game 3 of the World Series.

Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 3 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, remaining in the lineup after dislocating a shoulder as the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 3-0 World Series lead over the New York Yankees with a 4-2 victory.

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees need to start hitting if they’re going to climb back into this World Series.

Shohei Ohtani is set to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium on Monday night despite a partially dislocated left shoulder, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Aaron Judge is sinking ever deeper into a gruesome postseason slump, and the New York Yankees’ championship chances are fading right along with him.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto allowed one hit over 6 1/3 innings, Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight night and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit three early longballs off Carlos Rodón to beat the New York Yankees 4-2 for a 2-0 lead in the World Series.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani partially dislocated his left shoulder during the seventh inning of Saturday’s Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees when he tried to steal second base.

Aaron Boone has one regret about his pitching decisions during Game 1 of the World Series Friday night.

Nestor Cortes was so happy to reach the World Series, he was willing to sacrifice his elbow and perhaps millions of dollars.

Although Shohei Ohtani’s first trip to the World Series is a global sports event, it’s particularly big in Japan — and for Japan.

The race was on to reach Shohei Ohtani first.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees will play Major League Baseball's starriest World Series in decades.

Television ratings in Japan have set records as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani have reached the World Series against the New York Yankees.

Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport.

Sometimes, it really does help to have all that money.

The World Series is always the goal for the big-spending Los Angeles Dodgers.

Shohei Ohtani got what he came for when he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers: a trip to the World Series.

New York neighbors who became cross-country rivals, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are renewing their starry struggle in the World Series for the first time in 43 years.

Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered to send Shohei Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.

The online auction for Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has just four days remaining, with the highest bid now at $1.8 million.

Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and scored four times, Mookie Betts also went deep and drove in four runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers routed the New York Mets 10-2 for a 3-1 lead in their lopsided National League Championship Series.

Shohei Ohtani homered against Jose Quintana leading off Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, putting the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the New York Mets.

Pitcher Luis Severino twice misplayed grounders, leading to a pair of unearned runs in the second inning that put the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead for good in an 8-0 romp that gave them a 2-1 NL Championship Series lead.

Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer to punctuate the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-0 victory over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos homered as the New York Mets stopped the Los Angeles Dodgers’ record-tying postseason scoreless streak in a 7-3 victory, tying the NL Championship Series at a game apiece.

Jack Flaherty combined on a three-hitter and Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers tied the postseason record of 33 consecutive scoreless innings by routing the New York Mets 9-0 Sunday night in the NL Championship Series opener.

New York Mets starter Kodai Senga lasted just 10 batters and got only four outs in the National League Championship opener, struggling with control as the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 3-0, second-inning lead.

Shohei Ohtani was caught stealing for the first time in nearly three months, ending a streak of 36 consecutive successful stolen base attempts.

Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as the best player in Major League Baseball.

“Big Spender” is the theme music for baseball’s final four.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueled Yu Darvish in a historic playoff matchup of Japanese-born starters, and the Los Angeles Dodgers got home runs from Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández to beat the San Diego Padres 2-0 and advance to the National League Championship Series.

Shohei Ohtani will get his wish to see Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto face off against San Diego's Yu Darvish in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series.

Mookie Betts homered for the second straight night, Shohei Ohtani hit an RBI single and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Dylan Cease and the San Diego Padres 8-0 to force a deciding Game 5 in their tense NL Division Series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going with reliever Ryan Brasier as their starter for Game 4 against the San Diego Padres as they try to avoid elimination in their NL Division Series.

Fernando Tatis Jr.‘s towering two-run home run highlighted a six-run second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to beat Shohei Ohtani and the rival Los Angeles Dodgers 6-5 to take a 2-1 lead in a tense NL Division Series.

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts says it was “bothersome” that a ball San Diego third baseman Manny Machado threw into the Dodgers dugout seemed intended for him during the Padres’ 10-2 win in Game 2 of their NL Division Series.

Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run homer in his postseason debut, Teoscar Hernández’s two-run single gave Los Angeles its first lead in a playoff game in two years, and the Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in their NL Division Series opener.

Shohei Ohtani hit a tying, three-run homer in the second inning of his highly anticipated playoff debut to help the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-5 in their National League Division Series opener.

Shohei Ohtani is about to realize his childhood dream of playing in important games.

Shohei Ohtani has mashed 100 mph fastballs for homers, stolen bases against some of the game’s best catchers and recently wrapped up one of the best regular seasons in Major League Baseball history.

Kyle Higashioka’s solo homer started a five-run rally against Max Fried with two outs in the second inning, and the San Diego Padres held on to sweep the Atlanta Braves with a 5-4 win in Game 2 of their NL Wild Card Series.

The claim to Shohei Ohtani’s potentially lucrative 50th home run ball grew more complicated this week, with a second fan filing a lawsuit asserting he had possession of the historic baseball.

Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani has put up some of the best regular season numbers in baseball history over the past six months.

Shohei Ohtani spent the last six years going home in October.

Shohei Ohtani topped Major League Baseball jersey sales for the second straight season while becoming the first player to reach 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same year.

Luis Arraez held off Shohei Ohtani’s bid to win the National League Triple Crown and was set to become the first player since the 1800s to earn batting titles with three teams.

Shohei Ohtani’s locked in at the plate, on the bases, for the NL MVP and now on the Triple Crown.

The attorney for an 18-year-old man trying to stop Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from being sold at auction until a lawsuit is resolved believes he has a strong case.

Shohei Ohtani is headed to the postseason for the first time in his career after the Los Angeles Dodgers won the NL West by scoring five runs in the seventh inning in a 7-2 win over the second-place San Diego Padres.

A Florida man's lawsuit has temporarily stopped Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball from being sold after saying it was stolen from him moments after he secured it.

Major League Baseball is thriving two years after introducing sweeping measures to make the game more exciting.

The baseball that Shohei Ohtani hit for his 50th home run, which gave him 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season, is going up for auction on Friday.

The Major League Baseball playoffs are approaching and a Shohei Ohtani vs.

Shohei Ohtani hit a tying home run in the ninth inning and Mookie Betts followed with another drive as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday to maintain their three-game lead in the National League West.

If baseball fans are lucky, Shohei Ohtani’s greatness in the batter’s box and maybe even on the pitching mound could be on display for at least another decade.

Shohei Ohtani's feat of becoming the first major leaguer with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season was met with extra editions of newspapers for fans to read on their way to work.

Shohei Ohtani keeps showing a flair for the dramatic during his historic first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In what has become a fall custom, the Los Angeles Dodgers are heading to the playoffs.

Among the roughly 23,000 men who played played Major League Baseball over the past century-and-a-half, none had a season with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases — until now.

Shohei Ohtani has become the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.

Shohei Ohtani stole his 49th base and moved closer to becoming the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 steals in a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 8-4.

Jesús Sánchez doubled twice and drove in three runs, and the Miami Marlins beat Shohei Ohtani and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 11-9 on Tuesday night.

Mookie Betts had a tiebreaking RBI single with two outs in a seven-run ninth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 9-2.

Aaron Judge is mashing homers at an astounding pace for the New York Yankees.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, Jack Flaherty pitched another gem and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday in record-tying heat.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 46th home run of the season to tie his career high, a 450-foot solo shot down the right-field line in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ game against the Cleveland Guardians on a sweltering Sunday.

Shohei Ohtani has returned to the stadium and the city where he did just about everything except win.

Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman led off Saturday’s game with consecutive home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Will Smith hit a late three-run homer, Shohei Ohtani added his 43rd of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their NL West lead to five games with a 10-9 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the third inning, Shohei Ohtani went deep leading off the game on his second bobblehead night and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4.

Shohei Ohtani has homered leading off the game on his bobblehead night at Dodger Stadium.

Even by their lofty standards, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani had quite a week.

Shohei Ohtani has thrown off a mound for the first time since having elbow surgery last year that has kept the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar from pitching this season.

Shohei Ohtani has time to make more history this season.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out grand slam in the ninth inning for his 40th homer after earlier stealing his 40th base, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.

Shohei Ohtani hit his National League-leading 39th home run and Clayton Kershaw tossed six shutout innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Nevada gaming regulators have accused the Resorts World casino of turning a blind eye to illegal bookmaking.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the midst of a stretch that most big-league clubs can only dream about, winners of six straight games, 20 of 25 since the All-Star break and 30 of 40 since late June.

Mookie Betts is returning to right field and adjusting to a new spot in the lineup after missing nearly two months with a broken left hand.

A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani has pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling business.

A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to running an illegal gambling business.

Clayton Kershaw allowed two runs over four innings in his return from shoulder surgery, Nick Ahmed and Shohei Ohtani homered on consecutive pitches in the eighth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4.

Shohei Ohtani made his 30th home run in Dodger blue a memorable one.

The oddsmakers say Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are the front-runners for baseball’s MVP awards.