Shohei Ohtani hit his 47th home run and stole his 48th base in the Los Angeles Dodgers September 11 win against the Chicago Cubs.
When the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million contract last winter, the organization knew they were bringing in a once-in-a-lifetime talent. However, with the regular season coming to a close, Ohtani may have found a way to exceed the lofty expectations of him.
Ohtani has a chance to be the first player in MLB history to have a 50-home run and 50-stolen base season. Last season, all eyes were on Ronald Acuña Jr. as he became the founding member of the 40-70 club. Acuña swiped 73 bags and swatted 41 home runs in a tremendous display of power and speed over the course of a season. Acuña won the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Ohtani is currently the favorite to win National League Most Valuable Player. He would be the first primary designated hitter to win MVP in either league. Some may ask, “What’s so special about 50-50 if Acuña got 40-70 last season?” The answer can be found in the stats.
While Acuña’s display of the power-speed combination was unique, what Ohtani is doing is even more impressive. Acuña was the fifth player to join the 40-40 club, joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano. Ohtani joined the club this season. Obviously, en route to his 40-70 season, Acuña founded the 40-50, 40-60, and 40-70 clubs. No player with a 70-steal season had reached even 30 home runs. What made Acuña’s season so special was the stolen bases. No other player had ever reached even 47 stolen bases in a 40-home run season.
However, this season, Ohtani became the second player, joining Acuña to do so. Ohtani is putting his running ability on full display, but what makes 50-50 so special is that no player to have a 50-home run season has ever reached even 30 stolen bases in the same year. The closest was Colorado Rockies’ Larry Walker, who hit 49 home runs and swiped 33 bags. Ohtani reaching the 50-stolen base threshold while also being one of the best power hitters in baseball is one of the best power-speed combo feats in baseball history, simply because hitting the 50-home run mark itself is rarer than stealing 70 bases. There have been just 49 50-home run seasons, with the legitimacy of some even being questioned. However, there have been 132 70-steal seasons.
Additionally, Ohtani will be the third player to have both a 50-home run and a 50-steal season at any point in their career, let alone the same season. Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson are the only others. Ohtani will be the first player not born in America to do it.
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WBN Shohei Ohtani Coverage: https://worldbaseball.com/?s=ohtani
