Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a two-run home run, his 50th of the season, during the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on September 19, 2024 in Miami, Florida. Ohtani is now the first MLB player to have at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Occasionally, a ballplayer crossing a statistical threshold will do so in dramatic fashion.
Wade Boggs, for example, homered for his 3,000th hit in Major League Baseball, cranking a two-run shot off Cleveland’s Chris Haney at Tropicana Field on Aug. 7, 1999. He was the first (and remains the only) player to homer for his 3,000th hit.
Ten years before Boggs’ milestone homer, Nolan Ryan notched his 5,000th strikeout, fanning Rickey Henderson for the milestone ‘K’ on Aug. 22, 1989. Henderson, of course, was one of baseball’s most electric players in the 1980s, a speedy player who could hit for average and power and was a threat to steal any time he got on base, which he did at a .411 clip in 1989.
And then there’s Shohei Ohtani, who became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in the same season Thursday night in the Los Angeles Dodgers 20-4 win at Miami.
Not only did Ohtani record his 50th homer and 50th steal in the game, but he put on one of the greatest single-game performances of all time, going 6-for-6 with three homers, three steals, 10 RBIs, and four runs scored. Only one player in MLB – Atlanta’s Matt Olson, who drove in 12 runs last week – had more RBIs last week than Ohtani had in Thursday’s game.
In seven games last week, Ohtani went 13-for-30 with a .433/.485/.1.067 batting line, a 1.552 OPS, five home runs, nine runs scored, and 18 RBIs – more than enough to earn World Baseball Network’s International MLB Player of the Week honors.
Ohtani is almost certainly a lock to win the National League MVP for 2024, considering he leads the senior circuit in plate appearances, runs scored, home runs, RBIs, slugging, OPS, OPS+, and total bases.
The Dodgers clinched a playoff berth with Thursday’s win, and they’re leading the NL West by four games over the San Diego Padres.
There are eight games left in the regular season before Ohtani hits the international stage in the postseason.
For a player who’s mastery of the game seemingly strengthens every year, is it possible that Ohtani reaches the 60/60 mark?
Maybe not this season, but it is possible, and the seeming impossibility of Ohtani’s limitless ability make his accomplishments all the more spectacular.
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WBN Shohei Ohtani Coverage: https://worldbaseball.com/?s=ohtani
