MIAMI: Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani made Major League Baseball (MLB) history on Thursday (Sep 19), becoming the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
Ohtani officially established MLB’s 50-50 club with a seventh-inning homer in the Dodgers’ 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami.
The win clinched the Dodgers’ post-season berth – a first for Ohtani, who never made the playoffs even as he earned two American League Most Valuable Player awards while with the Los Angeles Angels.
The Dodgers had runners on the corners when Ohtani came to the plate with two outs in the seventh. He launched a curveball from Mike Baumann over the left centre field wall.
His second home run of the contest gave him 50 for the season after two stolen bases earlier in the game pushed his tally of steals to 51.
The Japanese standout had smashed his 49th home run of 2024 in the sixth, a 438-foot blast that tied Shawn Green’s record for most by a Dodger in a single season, set in 2001.
And to cap a monster offensive performance, Ohtani added a third home run in the ninth inning, finishing the game with 51 homers and 51 steals so far this season.
He had six hits in six at-bats, including two doubles for a total of five extra-base hits.
He drove in 10 runs and scored four and could only laugh as he returned to the dugout after his final blast, the cheers of fans at LoanDepot Park ringing in his ears.
“To be honest, I’m the one probably most surprised,” Ohtani said through a translator of the spectacular show. “I have no idea where this came from, but I’m glad I performed well today.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, addressing his players in the clubhouse as they celebrated the victory, noted the achievement.
“This is a game that has been played for over 200 years,” Roberts said. “And this is something that has never been done.”
