Japanese media also easily achieved the milestone that they expected would be difficult. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has surpassed Ichiro Suzuki (49)’s 127 points, which he did not think would be broken, for the first time in 23 years. Now his next goal is to hit 56 steals.
Ohtani is set to play against the San Diego Padres in the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 25th (Korea time). The Dodgers announced Landon Ngak (3-4, 3.39 ERA) and the San Diego Padres announced Michael King (12-9, 3.04).
Ohtani’s Dodgers is set to play three consecutive home games for the last time during the regular season. After playing 156 games, the Dodgers will meet with the San Diego Padres on weekdays, and conclude its schedule of 162 regular-season games with three consecutive away games by the Colorado Rockies on weekends.
The Dodgers (93 wins and 63 losses), which ranks first in the National League West, is leading San Diego (90 wins and 66 losses) by three games, and Colorado (60 wins and 96 losses), which ranks lowest, is leading San Diego (90 wins and 66 losses) by a whopping 33 games. Therefore, if the team secures the winning series of its home games during the week, it will likely easily win the title in the district.
Ohtani also attracts the most attention from the Dodgers where all-star players are gathered. Ohtani, who joined the Dodgers in December last year with the largest 10-year contract worth 700 million U.S. dollars, proved his value by performing fantastic from the first year of his transfer.
This season, Ohtani has a batting average of 0.301 (184 hits in 611 at-bats) in 153 games, 53 home runs, 123 RBIs, 128 runs, 55 steals, and OPS. He has virtually reserved his third MVP by ranking first in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, slugging percentage (0.640), and OPS in the National League.
Having already completed the grand task of becoming the world’s first 50-50 club, Ohtani is now moving toward a 55-55 and higher goal: the team’s championship. His biggest concern along the way is the home run competition with Aaron Judge.
Ohtani, who represents the National League, and Judge, who represents the American League, are currently playing a close game with 53-55 home runs. With six games left for the Yankees, the two players are expected to compete fiercely until the end for the entire MLB home run title this season. 메이저놀이터
Ohtani’s Ichiro break the record as much as his home run. Ohtani has already scored 128 points and 55 steals before the end of the season, far surpassing his personal career high. In the meantime, he broke Ichiro’s record of most goals scored in a single Asian major leaguer season, which has been strong for 23 years since 2001.
Ichiro, Japan’s top major leaguer before Ohtani, left a career high in 2001 when he won both the Rookie of the Year award and the MVP award at the Seattle Mariners. He had a batting average of 0.350 (242 hits in 692 at-bats), eight homers, 69 RBIs, 127 runs, 56 steals, and OPS of 0.838 in 157 games, helping Seattle secure the most wins (116 wins) in a single season in MLB history. His 127 points and 56 steals, which he recorded during this period, were immortalized by numerous Asian major leaguers who challenged but failed to break anyone.
Japanese media also did not expect Ichiro’s career high to be broken easily just a month ago. “We are close to Otani’s personal record of 103 points in 2021,” the Japanese media said on April 27, while highlighting Otani’s record of 100 points. “Currently, it is 114 points,” he said. “However, it is not easy to break Ichiro’s record of 127 points in 2001.” As there were only 31 games left at the time, the argument was convincing enough.
However, Ohtani broke Japanese media’s expectations in a beautiful manner even less than a month passed. After scoring 100 points, Ohtani added 28 points in 25 matches, quickly surpassing Ichiro’s 127. Meanwhile, the number of stolen bases has only one gap, and he is facing a new history.
If Ohtani adds one more stolen base, he will tie Ichiro’s career high, and if he adds two more, he will become the lone top stealer in a season in the Asian Major Leaguer. Considering Ohtani’s pace with seven steals in the last five games, it is almost a matter of time before he breaks a new record. Attention is focusing on Ohtani’s moves, who is enjoying a historic season.