Baseball star Ohtani scoops prestigious ESPY Award as top athlete in men's sports

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Angels' two-way star Shohei Ohtani was named best male athlete of the year at the ESPY Awards on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time), beating out luminaries such as NBA star Stephen Curry and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Japan's Ohtani, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, also won the Best Major League Baseball Player trophy over Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Jorge Soler of the Atlanta Braves.

Ohtani was the unanimous winner of the AL MVP award last fall, amassing 46 home runs and making 23 starts on the mound for the Angels.

This season the 28-year-old was again named an All-Star as both a pitcher and batter. He's hit 19 home runs as a designated hitter and as a right-hander on the mound has a 2.44 earned-run average in 14 pitching starts.

"Congratulations to my fellow nominees, it's an honor to be in the same category as all of you, you are the best at what you do," Ohtani said in a pre-recorded ESPYs speech. "Thank you again ... and enjoy your afterparties."

While Ohtani didn't appear live, Curry hosted the ceremony for the ESPN-created awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood — and took home a couple himself.

Curry won the ESPY for Best NBA Player and for Best Record-Breaking Performance for passing Ray Allen for most 3-pointers made in NBA history during the past season.

After he accepted the record-breaking performance statue from actor Simu Liu and skier Lindsey Vonn, Curry quipped that the only reason he wanted to host was that he thought he'd be able to hand the statue to himself.

"Definitely a great honor," Curry added. "In the same way I looked up to my dad, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, the guys who came before me, all records are meant to be broken, so I know there's a lot of young kids that are out there that are working hard. I can't wait to be in the arena when you break this record."

Curry's teammate on the NBA champion Warriors , Klay Thompson, won the award for Best Comeback. He made his triumphant return to action Jan. 9 after being sidelined for more than two years while rehabbing a pair of career-altering injuries.

"It's just an incredible honor," Thompson said.

Curry also joined WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith and others in calling attention to WNBA star Brittney Griner, considered "wrongly detained" by the United States in Russia.

Footballer Megan Rapinoe, who also scooped an ESPY, invoked the collective power of sports in calling for Griner's release.

"Every time we say her name, it puts pressure on everyone — puts pressure on the administration, puts pressure on Russia," Rapinoe said. "The most striking thing is that BG isn't here. BG deserves to be free. ... We can support her more and let her know that we love her so much."