Shohei Ohtani becomes the first major league player with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season

By Alanis Thames, The Associated Press on September 19, 2024.

MIAMI (AP) – Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, with the Los Angeles Dodgers star going deep twice to reach the half-century mark and swiping two bags to get to 51 against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

Ohtani hit his 50th homer in the seventh inning, an opposite-field, two-run shot to left against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann. One inning earlier, he hit his 49th, launching a 1-1 slider from George Soriano 438 feet to the second deck in right-center.

He took care of the stolen bases earlier in the game, swiping his 50th in the first and his 51st in the second. Ohtani became the first player with multiple homers and steals in a game since the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts on Aug. 23, 2020.

The Japanese superstar led off the game with double against Edward Cabrera and swiped third on the front end of a double steal with Freddie Freeman, who reached on a walk.

Ohtani has been successful on his last 28 stolen base attempts.

He reached the 50-50 milestone in his 150th game. Ohtani was already the sixth player in major league history and the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, needing just 126 games.

Ohtani’s previous career high in homers was 46 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, when he also made 23 starts on the mound and won his first of two AL MVP awards.

Already the consensus best player in baseball whose accomplishments as a pitcher and batter outpaced even Babe Ruth, Ohtani reached new heights as an offensive player while taking the year off from pitching.

Ohtani signed a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers last December. The two-way star, who previously spent six years with the Los Angeles Angels, has played exclusively at designated hitter this season as he rehabilitates after surgery a year ago for an injured elbow ligament.

Preparation was a key to Ohtani becoming the first member of the 50-50 club. He regularly huddled with the team’s hitting coaches and studied video of opposing pitchers to understand their tendencies with hitters and baserunners.

“I see all the work he puts in,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said recently. “It’s not like he goes out there and it’s too easy for him. He works harder than anybody. He scouts really hard. He’s playing a different game so it’s fun to see.”

Ohtani appeared to make the 50-50 mark his mission. He increased the frequency of his base-stealing attempts and in turn his success rate went up.

But that may not be the case next year when he returns to the mound.

“He’s not pitching this year so I think he is emptying the tank offensively,” Manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think the power, the on-base (percentage), the average, I think he can do that as a pitcher. He’s done something pretty similar like that with his OPS. But as far as the stolen bases go, I’m not sure about that.”

Ohtani’s teammates have enjoyed watching him crush home runs and scamper around the bases.

“I’m honestly kind of trying to learn from him just seeing the way he goes about his day-to-day business. He’s very consistent, the same demeanor throughout,” outfielder Tommy Edman said recently. “I think that’s why he’s such a good player.”

Third baseman Max Muncy added, “Every night I feel like he does something that we haven’t seen.”

What’s next for Ohtani?

The Dodgers are headed to the postseason in October, which will be another first for Ohtani. He never made it there with the Angels, who never had a winning record during his tenure in Anaheim.

Another potential first could be earning National League MVP honors as a designated hitter. No player who got most of his playing time as a DH – without pitching – has ever won MVP, although Don Baylor, Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz placed high in the vote.

It would be Ohtani’s third career MVP award, having earned the first two in the American League with the Angels.

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AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/MLB

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