Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr. were unanimously voted the Most Valuable Players of their respective leagues on Thursday, an unprecedented event in the award’s 92-year history.

Ohtani, a tantalizing free agent fresh off another historic two-way season, also became the first player in 2021 to win the honor unanimously on two occasions. The Texas Rangers’ standout middle infielders, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, finished second and third in the American League, respectively.

Despite missing most of the last two months of the Los Angeles Angels’ season, Ohtani got all 30 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

He rejoiced by high-fiving a puppy who had been sitting on his lap the entire time.

“Obviously, I wanted to win it last year, but [Aaron] Judge had a spectacular season and, deservedly so, he won it,” Ohtani said through an interpreter immediately after Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson named him AL MVP. “So I wanted to come back stronger this year and try to win it, and I know my rivals, Semien and Seager, had great seasons, and congratulations to them on winning the World Series.” It’s fantastic, in my opinion. My goal was to come out on top, and this kind of rewards all of my hard work.”