Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani Achieves More History as 50-50 Season Approaches
Shohei Ohtani is in a league of his own.
In just one year with the Dodgers, he has broken the career home run record by a Japanese-born player and became the sixth member of the exclusive 40-40 club. Despite being limited to only batting, Ohtani has established himself as the best player in the National League.
With every game, Ohtani is inching toward the title of the best player in all of baseball. After reaching 40 homers and 40 stolen bases, the four-time MLB All-Star emerged as the only big leaguer to reach the 43-43 mark. He kept climbing in Monday’s game against the Diamondbacks and reached 44-44.
In the same game, he logged two more stolen bases. Ohtani is up to 46 stolen bases this season — nearly double his former career-high from 2021 (26). His 44 home runs are just two short of a new career high. Now, Ohtani is just four stolen bases and six homers away from starting his club as the only MLB player in history to achieve a 50-50 season.
It is uncommon for a player to be a consistent home run hitter and have the speed to steal bases. Across MLB, the top five home run hitters all have fewer than 20 stolen bases, and most have yet to reach double digits. Yankees’ Aaron Judge has 51 homers but only seven steals. The Braves’ Marcell Ozuna ranks fourth with 37 home runs but has not stolen a base this season.
Other than Ohtani, the only player in the top 10 who can hit home runs and steal bases is the Guardians’ José Ramírez, who’s up to 34-34.
This has been a repeating theme throughout MLB history. Most players are either dynamic base stealers or strong home run hitters. It is rare to find a player that can do it all.
Additionally, Ohtani has hit the ball harder than any other Dodgers player since 2015. He consistently launches homers at triple-digit speed, nearing 120 mph.
A player like Ohtani comes around once in a generation. He will go down in history as one of the best ever to play the game. This season will stand as irrefutable proof.
Photo Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
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