Shohei Ohtani added onto an impressive first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers as he’s now made MLB history by reaching 43 home runs and 43 stolen bases to become the first player to ever have such totals in one year.
His 43rd stolen base came in the second inning of the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ohtani then hit his 43rd home run of the season in the eighth.
Prior to Ohtani, the only player with at least 42 homers and 43 stolen bases in the same season was Alex Rodriguez in 1998. During a third consecutive All-Star season with the Seattle Mariners, Rodriguez finished with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases.
The latest milestone for Ohtani comes not long after he became the sixth player in MLB history to join the 40-40 club. Of those, only Ohtani reached his 40th home run and 40th stolen base of the season in the game.
Making it all the more impressive and memorable was Ohtani’s 40th homer coming in the form of a walk-off grand slam. The walk-off home run was a career first for the superstar talent.
“I always say that you can’t script a game, but man, if there was a script, that couldn’t have been written any better. Shohei just never ceases to amaze,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Shohei Ohtani chasing 50-50
At this point, each home run and stolen base Ohtani collects will continue to make MLB history. But there’s a particularly fixation on his chase to become the first player with 50 home runs and 50 RBI in one season.
Ohtani became the fastest player to join the 40-40 club by doing so in just 126 games. The MLB record previously belonged to Alfonso Soriano, who accomplished the feat in 147 games.
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