Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodger Stadium as a conquering hero Friday after clinching the first 50-50 season in MLB history. And then he kept doing what he does best.
After reaching 50-50 and 51-51 in the same game, the Los Angeles Dodgers star inaugurated the 52-52 club with a homer and steal against the Colorado Rockies. Facing Rockies starter Kyle Freeland in the fifth inning, Ohtani worked the count full then took a pitch at his armpits to deep center field.
There are not many hitters who could take a pitch that high and send it 423 feet the other way.
Two innings later, Ohtani got on base with a single then took second base on the first pitch to Mookie Betts.
It was the 14th game this season in which Ohtani posted both a home run and stolen base in the same game, breaking Rickey Henderson’s record of 13 set in 1986.
The long ball also pushed Ohtani one short of Aaron Judge for the MLB lead and made him 9 for his last 10 with four homers, two doubles, three steals, six runs and 12 RBI.
Most of that production came Thursday, when Ohtani reached 50-50 not just in style, but with one of the greatest offensive games in MLB history.
Ohtani hit his 49th, 50th and 51st homers of the season and stole his 50th and 51st base of the season all in the same game, combining an unprecedented season-long accomplishment with the 16th 10-RBI game in MLB history. It was also the first three-homer, two steal game in MLB history, all on the anniversary of his I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-Tommy-John surgery (Ohtani received an internal brace on his UCL on Sept. 19, 2023).
The only drawback of the magical night was that it was on the road, even though Ohtani still received a curtain call at loanDepot Park. Dodgers fans did their best to make up for it by giving him a standing ovation before his first at-bat, which earned a wave from Ohtani.
Ohtani might have reached 50-50, but it still remains to be seen how far into uncharted territory he can venture in homers and steals. There’s also the matter of the playoffs.
The Dodgers clinched the playoffs Thursday, but entered Friday with a four-game lead on the San Diego Padres for the NL West title. Wherever they end up in Ohtani’s first postseason, they’ll also have to overcome a spate of pitching injuries if they want to get Ohtani a ring.
