Two Dodgers stars are closing in on a baseball milestone, and the only question is which one of them will make it first.
Mookie Betts is sitting at 299 career home runs, with Shohei Ohtani just behind him at 297.
One or both of them could hit the 300 mark Tuesday night against the Minnesota Twins — if, of course, the game isn’t rained out.
How likely are Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts to reach 300 home runs on Tuesday?
While it’s possible both players could reach 300 homers in this next game, Betts and Ohtani face different challenges.
Yes, Betts is closer, but he’s only hit one home run in his last five games, and he has eight total on the season. Overall, he’s slashing .214/.279/.387/.666, numbers far below the future Hall of Famer’s standards.
A lot of that, of course, is due to Betts’ oblique injury he suffered in the eighth game of the season.
Ohtani, meanwhile, homered just Monday night, his third time going deep in his last five games.
He’s got more than twice Betts’ total home runs with 17, and his overall offensive numbers are much better, as he’s slashing .296/.418/.558/.976.
Fanatics Markets gives Ohtani a 29% chance to homer again on Tuesday.
Given his new dad strength, though, Ohtani could be due for a truly huge game at the plate.
What is the significance of hitting 300 home runs?
Only 166 players in baseball history have hit 300 homers, and 16 of them remain active players.
One of them happens to be teammate Freddie Freeman, who has 380 home runs in his 17 seasons.
These three Dodgers are especially noteworthy, as all three are likely to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but hitting 300-plus homers is still a great line to have on a player’s resume for Cooperstown.
When do you think Mookie and Shohei will join the 300 home run club?
