Shohei Ohtani beats out Yankees' Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres for AL Rookie of the Year

Say it ain’t Oh!

 Yankees fans who were hoping Miguel Andujar or Gleyber Torres would win the AL Rookie of the Year award were disappointed on Monday night when Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani took the honor in a landslide vote.

Ohtani, who didn’t even allow the Yankees to bid on him before signing with the Angels, took 25 of 30 first-place spots in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

 Andujar, the Yankees’ slugging (but defensively challenged) third baseman, got the other five first-place votes.

 Ohtani also picked up four second-place votes to finish with 137 points. Andujar was named second on 20 ballots and third on four others to finish with 89 points.

 Torres finished third with 25 points (three second-place votes and 16 third-place votes).

  Andujar and Torres were trying to give the Yankees back-to-back Rookie of the Year awards after Aaron Judge was a unanimous selection after the 2017 season. But most voters went for Ohtani, who took the baseball world by storm as one of the most effective two-way players since Babe Ruth before an elbow injury ended the pitching portion of the former Japanese League star’s first U.S. baseball campaign.

  Ohtani went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings in 10 starts. He had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, which should keep him from pitching in 2019. At the plate, Ohtani hit .285 with 22 homers, 61 RBIs and a .925 OPS.

Ohtani is the first player with 15 homers as a batter and 50 strikeouts as a pitcher in the same season. He is expected to be a designated hitter-only for the Angels next season.

"Accomplishing something this special in my first year means a whole lot to me," Ohtani said through an interpreter. "I think it means a whole lot for the people who have been supporting me this whole time, so I'm really grateful."

 The Yankees wanted badly to bid on Ohtani when he was posted as a free agent before the 2018 season and made a lavish presentation to his agents. But Ohtani didn’t grant the team an interview, saying he wanted to play on the West Coast before signing with the Angels. The Yankees pivoted and traded for Giancarlo Stanton.

 The good news for the Yankees is that in Andujar and Torres they have two premier offensive infielders. Andujar turns 24 in March and Torres turns 22 next month.

Andujar hit . 297 with 27 homers, 92 RBIs and an .855 OPS. He set a Yankees rookie record with 47 doubles and tied the AL rookie mark for doubles set by Boston’s Fred Lynn in 1975.

 The only knock on Andujar was his defense. He made 15 errors at third base and was pulled from games early in the postseason. Manager Aaron Boone did not use Andujar at all in the Yankees’ season-ending 4-3 loss to the Red Sox in Game 4 of the ALDS.

Torres made the last out of that game on a slow chopper to third base. Torres hit .271 with 24 homers, 77 RBIs and an .820 OPS after missing most of the 2017 season after Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

 Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves won the NL Rookie of the Year award by a wide margin over fellow 20-year-old Juan Soto, an outfielder for the Nationals.

Acuna received 27 first-place votes and three seconds for 144 points. Soto got two firsts and 89 points. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler was third with one first and 28 points.

Acuna hit .293 with 26 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .917 OPS in 111 games.

-- With the Associated Press

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.