Livescore
Shohei Ohtani is three homers and two stolen bases away from history, with 16 games to go.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star hit his 47th homer of the season against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. With 47 stolen bases already on the board, the home run sealed MLB’s first 47-47 season. The homer also gave Ohtani a new career high in long balls, surpassing his previous best of 46 in 2021.
With two more homers, Ohtani would tie Shawn Green’s Dodgers record for most homers in a season. The former All-Star hit 49 in 2001.
Ohtani’s homer Wednesday was only the start of the fireworks for the Dodgers. After a Cubs two-run rally in the top of the first, the Dodgers got on the board via Ohtani, then had Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Max Muncy hit back-to-back-to-back homers off Chicago starter Jordan Wicks, putting L.A. up 5-2.
That rally left Ohtani as the leadoff batter for the second inning, too. After working a full-count walk, Ohtani swiped his 48th base of the season to inch closer to the mythical 50-50.
Wednesday marked the 12th time that Ohtani has recorded both a homer and a steal in the same game, one short of the MLB record for most such games held by Rickey Henderson.
Ohtani added another single in the third inning but with no stolen bases. He had to make do with two more RBI to put the Dodgers up 7-3. Things got only more eventful from there, with the Dodgers eventually winning 10-8 with some help from a two-homer game by Edman.
Is Shohei Ohtani on pace for 50-50?
Yes. With 47 home runs, 48 stolen bases and 16 games left on the Dodgers’ regular-season schedule, Ohtani is on pace for 52 homers and 53 steals by the end of the regular season.
Ohtani would need to go seven consecutive games without a homer to fall below a 50-homer pace.
The Dodgers travel to Atlanta for a four-game series against the Braves starting Friday.
Shohei Ohtani has already made plenty of history with Dodgers
However his quest for a 50-50 season works out, Ohtani has already done enough to make his first season with the Dodgers worth remembering.
As far as reaching certain numbers in home runs and stolen bases goes, Ohtani has journeyed deep into uncharted territory. In August, he became the sixth player to ever reach 40-40 — joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodríguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr. — and he did so in record time. The earliest any of those players had reached both thresholds was Soriano on Sept. 16, 2006.
And Ohtani’s 40th homer was a special one: a walk-off grand slam.
Rodriguez previously held the record for most in both categories, with 42 homers and 46 stolen bases in 1998. Ohtani matched that 42-42 season on his bobblehead night on Aug. 28 and surpassed it two days later on Aug. 30.
The homer and stolen base totals are both personal bests as well. Ohtani’s current home run count surpasses his previous career high of 46 set in 2021, his first MVP year, and he has already shattered his previous best in steals (26, also in 2021). He currently leads the NL in homers and ranks behind only Elly De La Cruz in steals.
And, of course, Ohtani set records for both size of contract ($700 million) and deferred contract money ($680 million) when he signed with the Dodgers before this season.
Ohtani has built his career on being unprecedented. Even in a season in which he’s not able to pitch, having undergone UCL surgery at the end of 2023, he is still doing things MLB has never seen.
Read the full article here
