Shohei Ohtani Follow-Up: Dodgers Star Hits Unprecedented 50-50 Season, Then 51-51 With Epic Game Against Marlins
Shohei Ohtani did it.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star has put together a 50-50 season never seen before, with 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season. And he did it with nine games left.
He then reached the 51-51 club in the same game while helping his team clinch the first playoff berth of his career.
And Ohtani did it with one of the best offensive games in MLB history: 6 for 6, three home runs, two stolen bases, two doubles, four runs and 10 RBIs. His 50th home run also broke Shawn Green’s 2001 record for most home runs in Dodgers history.
The final piece of the puzzle came Thursday in the seventh inning against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann.
Ohtani reached the 500-steal mark early in the first inning, stealing third after leading off the game with a double.
The star hitter then scored a run, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead over Miami. He added his 51st steal in the second inning after reaching base on an RBI single and taking second base without a pitch.
His 49th home run came in the sixth inning, and it was a big one. Statcast measured it at 111.2 mph off the bat and 438 feet away, giving the Dodgers a 9-3 lead.
Given that Ohtani was thrown out while trying to turn a double into a triple in the top of the third inning, he was also seconds away from hitting a cycle.
The exclamation point came in the ninth inning against position pitcher Vidal Brujan. Ohtani drove in a yard to record the first three-homer, two-stolen-base game in MLB history and the 16th 10-RBI game in MLB history.
Thursday was also Ohtani’s 13th game of the season with at least one home run and one steal, tying him with Rickey Henderson in 1986 for the most in MLB history, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Shohei Ohtani has already made history with the Dodgers
Besides his 51-51 season, Ohtani did more than enough to make his first season with the Dodgers a memorable one.
When it comes to home run and stolen base numbers, Ohtani has entered uncharted territory. In August, he became the sixth player to reach 40-40 — joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr. — and he did it in record time. The first of those players to reach both milestones was Soriano, on Sept. 16, 2006.
And Ohtani’s 40th home run was special: a game-winning grand slam.
Rodriguez previously held the record for most stolen bases in both categories, with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases in 1998. Ohtani tied that 42-42 season at his bobblehead party on Aug. 28 and surpassed it two days later, on Aug. 30.
Ohtani’s current home run total surpasses his previous career high of 46 set in 2021, his first year as MVP, and he has already broken his previous career high in steals (26, also in 2021). He currently leads the National League in home runs and ranks behind Elly De La Cruz in steals.
And, of course, Ohtani set records for both contract size ($700 million) and deferred contract size ($680 million) when he signed with the Dodgers before this season.
Ohtani has built his career on unprecedented performances. Even in a season where he is unable to pitch, having undergone ACL surgery in late 2023, he continues to do things MLB has never seen.
