For the first time in his pro career, the brakes came off a fit Shohei Ohtani in 2021, and the Los Angeles Angels' star showed the world his long-pursued prowess as a two-way player. But some doubters are still calling his performance a fluke.

Twenty years after Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player to be named Most Valuable Player in a U.S. major league, Ohtani is the favorite to be the second after an unparalleled season in which he was one of the best offensive players and a first-rate pitcher in nearly a full-time role.

For a long time after turning pro in 2013, Ohtani was an experiment. Even his first manager, who inspired him to both pitch and hit, treated him with extra caution in a world where few believed a player could possibly have the stamina, durability, skill and mental strength to hit every day and pitch every week.