Little League® alumni were in the spotlight during the 2023 MLB Postseason with more than 55 graduates playing in the 2023 MLB World Series and a group of graduates receiving postseason awards for their individual fielding and offensive performances.
A graduate of Mizusawa Little League in Japan, Shohei Ohtani finished out the season with the honor of being named the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. Mr. Ohtani led MLB in slugging (.654) and OPS (1.066), plus, his 44 recorded home runs in only 135 games was the most in the American League. With this year’s AL MVP win, Mr. Ohtani made history as the first player to win the award by a unanimous vote twice.
Shohei Ohtani with two MVP’s 🤳
Congrats on becoming first player in history to win multiple unanimous MVP awards 🏆 #LLAlumni pic.twitter.com/lnloIE7uGj
— Little League (@LittleLeague) November 17, 2023
With the Baltimore Orioles coming out of the regular season with 101 wins, the AL East title, and the organization’s first trip to the MLB playoffs since 2016, Manager Braden Hyde was named the American League Manager of the Year. Mr. Hyde is a graduate of Santa Rosa (Calif.) American Little League and is now the fourth Baltimore Orioles manager to receive the award.
In addition to Mr. Ohtani and Mr. Hyde’s big wins, below is a list of Little League graduates who also took home some hardware from the 2023 MLB Postseason Awards:
Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels) – Mizusawa (Japan) LL
- American League MVP Award
- American League Players Choice Outstanding Player
- Outstanding Designated Hitter Award
- American League Hank Aaron Award
Corbin Caroll (Arizona Diamondbacks) – Magnolia LL; Queen Anne LL (Seattle, Wash.)
- National League Rookie of the Year Award
- National League Players Choice Outstanding Rookie
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) – Linden (Calif.) LL
- 2023 Roberto Clemente Award
Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) – Tustin Western (Calif.) LL
- American League Cy Young Award
- American League Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
Cody Bellinger (Chicago Cubs) – Chandler (Ariz.) National LL – 2007 LLBWS
- National League Players Choice Comeback Player
Liam Hendriks (Chicago White Sox) – Wanneroo (Australia) LL
- American League Players Choice Comeback Player
Blake Snell (San Diego Padres) – Richmond (Wash.) LL
- National League Cy Young Award
- National League Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
Every year, a series of players are recognized for their individual fielding performances (Gold Glove Award) and/or their individual offensive performance (Silver Slugger Award) in that year’s season. Below are those Little League graduates that received one of these awards:
Gold Glove Awards:
American League
- Matt Chapman (3B) – Toronto Blue Jays – Lake Forest (Calif.) LL
- Anthony Volpe (SS) – New York Yankees – West Side LL (New York, N.Y.)
- José Berríos (P) – Toronto Blue Jays
- Steven Kwan (LF) – Cleveland Guardians – Sunnyvale (Calif.) Southern LL
National League
- Zack Wheeler (P) – Philadelphia Phillies – Smyrna (Ga.) LL
Silver Slugger Awards:
American League
- Kyle Tucker (OF) – Houston Astros – Tampa Bay (Fla.) LL
- Shohei Ohtani (DH) – Los Angeles Angels – Mizusawa (Japan) LL
National League
- Juan Soto (OF) – San Diego Padres – Banco Central LL (Dominican Republic)
- Cody Bellinger (UT) – Chicago Cubs – Chandler (Ariz.) National LL – 2007 LLBWS
Several Little League graduates were also named to the fifth-annual All-MLB First or Second Team for being the best at each position during the 2023 season. Those who received the honor are listed below:
All-MLB Team Honor
First Team
- Freddie Freeman (1B) – Los Angeles Dodgers – Long Beach (Calif.) LL
- Corbin Caroll (OF) – Arizona Diamondbacks – Magnolia LL; Queen Anne LL (Seattle, Wash.)
- Shohei Ohtani (DH, SP) – Los Angeles Angels – Mizusawa (Japan) LL
- Blake Snell (SP) – San Diego Padres – Richmond (Wash.) LL
Second Team
- Ozzie Albies (2B) – Atlanta Braves – Pariba LL (Willemstad, Curaçao)
- Aaron Judge (OF) – New York Yankees – Linden (Calif.) LL
- Kyle Tucker (OF) – Houston Astros – Tampa Bay (Fla.) LL
NOTE: If you know of a notable Little League® graduate that would fit into one of these categories, please fill out our Little League Alumni Submission Form.
To learn more about Little League alumni, including a full listing of active MLB players who got their start in Little League and those who played in both the Little League Baseball® World Series and MLB, visit LittleLeague.org/Alumni.