Shohei Ohtani, Cooper Kupp take home two ESPYs each; Carlos Vela wins Best MLS Player

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani was honored at the 2022 ESPY Awards Wednesday evening, earning a pair of award for Best Male Athlete and Best MLB Player. He was joined by Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who also took home two awards for Best NFL Player and Best Championship Performance.

The best two-way player MLB has seen since the likes of Babe Ruth, Ohtani beat out Steph Curry, Connor McDavid and Aaron Rodgers for Best Male Athlete. 

He's coming off one of the best seasons in big league history, dominating both on the mound and at the plate. He finished the year with a 9-2 record, 156 strikeouts and a 3.18 ERA, to go along with a .257 average, 46 homers and 100 RBIs. Along with his MVP, Ohtani also earned a Silver Slugger and his first of two All-Star Game selections.

Additionally, he topped stiff competition in the race for Best MLB Player, earning the award over Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Jorge Soler. 

Thus far in 2022, Ohtani has continued pace, hitting .258 with 19 home runs and 56 RBIs. He sports a 9-4 record with a 2.38 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 87 innings pitched.

Ohtani's counterpart for Best Female Athlete was Katie Ledecky, who won four gold medals at the 2022 World Championships. 

Kupp, on the other hand, earned his Best NFL Player Award over T.J. Watt, Jonathan Taylor and Aaron Rodgers, after putting together one of the best years the NFL has ever seen from a wide receiver, compiling 1,947 yards on 145 catches, 16 of which were for touchdowns. The performance earned him the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year Award and a spot in the Pro Bowl. 

His second award of the night also comes on the back of a stellar showing, after he had eight grabs for two touchdowns and 92 yards in Super Bowl LVI, in which the Rams topped the Cincinnati Bengals in front of the SoFi Stadium crowd. 

LAFC's Carlos Vela took home the award for Best MLS Player, following a 2021 season that saw him lead the club to a first place finish, scoring six goals with seven assists over 1,425 minutes played in 18 matches. 

Former Angel and Los Angeles Dodger Albert Pujols, coming off of his 11th and final All-Star Game appearance at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, was given the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. 

The Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday a year after taking place in New York.

Full list of ESPY Award Winners (in bold) and nominees:

• Best Male Athlete
  - Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels (MLB)
  - Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (NBA)
  - Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
  - Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (NFL)
• Best Female Athlete
  - Katie Ledecky, Olympic swimmer (United States of America)
  - Sunisa Lee, Olympic gymnast (United States of America)
  - Candace Parker, Chicago Sky (WNBA) (United States of America)
  - Oksana Masters, Paralympic swimmer (Ukraine)

• Best Team
  - Golden State Warriors (NBA)
  - George Bulldogs football (NCAAF)
  - Colorado Avalanche (NHL)
  - Atlanta Braves (MLB)
  - Los Angeles Rams (NFL)
  - Oklahoma Sooners Women's softball (NCAA)
• Best MLB Player
  - Shohei Ohtani, Los Angels Angels
  - Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
  - Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
  - Jorge Soler, Atlanta Braves

• Best NBA Player
  - Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
  - Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
  - Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
  - Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets 
• Best WNBA Player
  - Candace Parker, Chicago Sky
  - Skylar Diggins-Smith, Phoenix Mercury
  - Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun
  - Sylvia Fowles, Minnesota Lynx
• Best NFL Player
  - Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
  - T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts
  - Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
• Best NHL Player
  - Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
  - Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
  - Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
  - Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
• Best MLS Player
  - Carlos Vela, LAFC
  - Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas
  - Carles Gil, New England Revolution
  - Valentin Castellanos, New York City FC
• Best International Men's Soccer Player
  - Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain FC - Ligue 1 (France)
  - Sadio Mané, Liverpool FC - Premier League (Senegal)
  - Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City FC - Premier League (Belgium)
  - Karim Benzema, Real Madrid CF - La Liga (France)
• Best NWSL Player
  - Ashley Hatch, Washington Spirit
  - Caprice Dydasco, NJ/NY Gotham FC
  - Aubrey Bledsoe, Washington Spirit
  - Jess Fishlock, OL Reign
• Best International Women's Soccer Player
  - Sam Kerr, Chelsea FC Women - FA Women's Super League (Australia)
  - Vivianne Miedema, Arsenal - FA Women's Super League (Netherlands)
  - Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona - Primera División (Norway)
  - Alexia Putellas, Barcelona - Primera División (Spain)
• Best U.S. Male Olympian
  - Caeleb Dressel, swimming
  - Declan Farmer, ice sled hockey
  - Nick Mayhugh, running/soccer
  - Nathan Chen, figure skating
• Best U.S. Female Olympian
  - Katie Ledecky, swimming
  - Sunisa Lee, gymnastics
  - Allyson Felix, track and field
  - Oksana Masters, rowing, cross-country skiing

• Best Male College Athlete
  - Bryce Young, Alabama Crimson Tide Men's football
  - Dante Polvara, Georgetown Hoyas Men's soccer
  - Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Bulldogs Men's basketball
  - Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland Terrapins Men's lacrosse

• Best Female College Athlete
  - Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Sooners Women's softball
  - Charlotte North, Boston College Women's lacrosse
  - Jaelin Howell, Florida State Women's soccer
  - Aliyah Boston, South Carolina Gamecocks Women's basketball
• Best Male Tennis Player
  - Rafael Nadal (Spain)
  - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
  - Felix Auger Aliassime (Canada)
  - Dylan Alcott (Australia)
• Best Female Tennis Player
  - Emma Raducanu (United Kingdom)
  - Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
  - Iga Świątek (Poland)
  - Leylah Annie Fernandez (Canada)
• Best Male Golfer
  - Justin Thomas (United States of America)
  - Jon Rahm (Spain)
  - Scottie Scheffler (United States of America)
  - Cameron Smith (Australia)
• Best Female Golfer
  - Nelly Korda (United States of America)
  - Ko Jin-young (South Korea)
  - Minjee Lee (Australia)
  - Lydia Ko (New Zealand)
• Best Driver
  - Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports (NASCAR)
  - Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Formule One)
  - Steve Torrence, Torrence Racing (NHRA)
  - Álex Palou,  Chip Ganassi Racing (IndyCar Series)
• Best Breakthrough Athlete
  - Eileen Gu, Olympic skier
  - Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts (NFL)
  - Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (NBA)
  - Trinity Rodman, American soccer player
• Best Boxer
  - Tyson Fury (United Kingdom)
  - Mikaela Mayer (United States of America)
  - Shakur Stevenson (United States of America)
  - Katie Taylor (Ireland)
• Best MMA Fighter
  - Charles Oliveira (Brazil, UFC)
  - Kamaru Usman (Nigeria, UFC)
  - Alexander Volkanovski (Australia, UFC)
  - Kayla Harrison (United States of America, PFL)
• Best Male Action Sports Athlete
  - Eli Tomac (United States of America, Supercross)
  - Yuto Horigome (Japan, Skateboarding)
  - Ayumu Hirano (Japan, Snowboarding)
  - Alexander Hall (United States of America, Skiing)
• Best Female Action Sports Athlete
  - Eileen Gu (United States of America, Skiing)
  - Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (New Zealand, Snowboarding)
  - Chloe Kim (United States of America, Snowboarding)
  - Rayssa Leal (Brazil, Skateboarding)
• Best Comeback Athlete
  - Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors (NBA)
  - Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (NFL)
  - Trey Mancini, Baltimore Orioles (MLB)
  - Diamond DeShields, Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
• Best Jockey
  - Jose Ortiz (Puerto Rico)
  - Joel Rosario (Dominican Republic)
  - Irad Ortiz Jr. (Puerto Rico)
  - Flavien Prat (France)
• Best Bowler
  - Kyle Troup (United States of America)
  - Jason Belmonte (Australia)
  - Anthony Simonsen (United States of America)
  - Dominic Barrett (United Kingdom)
• Best Male Athlete with a Disability
  - Brad Snyder (United States of America, Paralympic swimming)
  - Declan Farmer (United States of America, Paralympic ice sled hockey)
  - Ian Seidenfeld (United States of America, Paralympic table tennis)
  - Nick Mayhugh (United States of America, Paralympic running, soccer)
• Best Female Athlete with a Disability
  - Jessica Long (United States of America, Paralympic swimming)
  - Oksana Masters (Ukraine, Paralympic rowing, cross-country skiing)
  - Kate Ward (United States of America, Women's soccer)
  - Brenna Huckaby (United States of America, Paralympic snowboarding)
• Jimmy V Award
  - Dick Vitale, basketball broadcaster, cancer survivor
• Pat Tillman Award for Service
  - Command Sergeant Gretchen Evans, United States Army
• Arthur Ashe Courage Award
  - Vitali Klitschko, former professional boxer, Mayor of Kyiv
  
• Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award
  - Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (MLB)
  - Anthony Barr, Minnesota Vikings (NFL)
  - Brad Stuver, Austin FC (MLS)
  - Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA)
• Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award
  - Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Hall of Famer
  - Steve Gleason, former NFL player
  - Chris Evert, former tennis player
• Best Game
  - Kansas City Chiefs 42-36 overtime win over Buffalo Bills in AFC divisional round
  - UConn Huskies 91-87 double-overtime win over N.C. State in Elite Eight, Women's March Madness
  - Kansas Jayhawks 72-69 win (16-point comeback) over UNC in NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, March Madness
  - Alabama Crimson Tide 24-22 four-overtime victory over Auburn Tigers in Iron Bowl rivalry game
• Best Championship Performance
  - Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams (Super Bowl LVI)
  - Max Verstappen, F1 Red Bull Racing (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix)
  - Julianna Peña, UFC (UFC 269 Bantamweight title fight)
  - Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (Stanley Cup Finals)
• Best Play Award
  - Megan Rapinoe corner kick "Olimpico" goal in Olympics bronze medal match
  - Ja Morant poster dunk against Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of NBA Playoffs First Round
  - Hansel Enmanuel, one-armed basketball player steals, windmill dunks and hands ball to heckler
  - Justin Tucker game-winning record-breaking 66-yard field goal against Detroit Lions on 9/26/21
• Best Record-Breaking Performance
  - Stephen Curry passed Ray Allen for most made three-pointers in NBA history (3,117 and counting)
  - Tom Brady passed Drew Brees for most passing yards all-time in NFL history (84,520 and counting)
  - Jocelyn Alo passed Lauren Chamberlain for most home runs in NCAA Division 1 Women's softball history (96)
  - Allyson Felix passed Carl Lewis for most career medals in United States Track & Field history (11 and counting)
• Best Humanitarian Team of the Year
  - Denver Broncos (NFL)
  - Seattle Storm (WNBA)
  - Miami Heat (NBA)
  - Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)