Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has written history almost every day since his first step in the U.S. Major League in 2018. This year, he is challenging his first career of 50 homers and 50 steals in the history of the Major League, and even summoned Alex Rodriguez’s record in 1998.
Ohtani started the game against the Cleveland Guardians of the “2024 Major League” at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on the 9th (Korea time) as the first designated hitter, and contributed to the 4-0 complete victory by scoring two hits, one strikeout, one RBI and one run from four times at bat, including his 46th home run of the season. Ohtani is currently listed as the most home runs among 40-40 club subscribers with 46 home runs and 46 steals. In addition, 46 home runs are tied with Ohtani’s record for the most in a single season in 2021, when he won his first MVP in his career.
Ohtani hit his 46th homer of this season after one out in the bottom of the fifth inning when the Dodgers was leading 1-0. Ohtani picked out the slider at the first pitch and hit the changeup of starter Tanner Bybee on the second pitch without missing the ball to the top of the strike zone to hit it over the right fence. Ohtani was not sure about the homer at first, and kept watching the batting, and soon started to circle around the diamond. It was a cannon with a flying distance of 450 feet (about 137 meters) and a batting speed of 116.7 miles (about 188 kilometers).
The Los Angeles Times reported that Otani hit his 46th homer in the fifth inning, making his way to his first 50-50 season in the 메이저사이트 Major League (he also had 101 RBIs, the most in a single season). Ohtani’s homeruns flew 450 feet and fell under the 1955 World Series championship banner (the third floor of the right outfield stands). “None of the players in the Dodgers dugout had ever seen a homerun fall on the spot,” he said, expressing the atmosphere on the spot where Ohtani was surprised by his homeruns, which stretched out such a difficult course.
Eric Steven of “True Blue LA,” which deals with Dodgers news, announced that Ohtani is on the verge of another new record with his home run. He said, “Ohtani is having a 46-homer-46 steal season, and he is also achieving 25 home runs-24 steals in home games alone this year. The Dodgers have nine regular season games left at Dodger Stadium this year. Alex Rodriguez was the only Major League hitter other than Ohtani to achieve at least 24 home runs-24 steals at home or away games in 1998, and he achieved 24 home runs-25 steals in away games alone.”
Ohtani is now listed as the first player in Major League history to hit 25 home runs-25 steals or more in home or away games with just one stolen base.
Ohtani had a chance to add another stolen base at Dodger Stadium but missed it. After getting on base with a heavy hit after two outs in the bottom of the third inning, Ohtani was taking the lead slightly wider, looking at the opportunity to play in the next Mookie Betts at bat. Vivey quickly threw a check ball to the first base, and Ohtani quickly tried to come back but was out because first baseman Josh Naylor’s tag was faster. It was the 47th time of the season and the 25th time in the home game lost the chance to steal a base.
Rodriguez has been a big leaguer for 22 years with three teams, the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers, and the New York Yankees. He is a slugger with a total of 2,784 games, a batting average of 0.295 (3,115 hits in 1,0566 times at bat), 696 homers, 329 steals, 2086 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.930. In 1998, when he was with the Seattle Mariners, he joined the 40-40 club for the first time and the last time with 42 home runs and 46 steals. He was a leading player in the 2009 Yankees Worldless Championship and was the top shortstop and third baseman who won three MVP awards, 14 All-Stars, 2 Gold Gloves, and 10 Silver Sluggers.
Ohtani plans to surpass Rodriguez for the first time in the Major League. The Dodgers has 19 more games to play during the regular season. Ohtani is currently on the pace of 52 homers and 52 steals, so he will be able to set a milestone arithmetically. He has four homers and four stolen bases, respectively.
“I’m trying to be less aware of 50-50 as much as possible. I’m just more focused on getting better vibes at bat while playing. That’s what I’m trying to do and concentrating on,” Ohtani said in an interview with local U.S. reporters, vowing to do my best while shaking off the pressure as much as possible.