Shohei Ohtani’s 2025 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers redefines MLB power-hitting milestones. By crushing 34 home runs in his first 100 games for a second time in his career, Ohtani joins the elusive ranks of all-time greats like Babe Ruth, Aaron Judge, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa—each of whom achieved the feat in two or more separate seasons. After reaching this benchmark as a Los Angeles Angel in 2021, Ohtani matched it in 2025 with the Dodgers, demonstrating remarkable consistency and prolonged dominance as a slugger.
Currently leading the National League with 38 home runs, Ohtani trails only Cal Raleigh, who holds the Major League lead with 41 homers after 100 games. Ohtani’s prodigious power and production have propelled him to the top of the odds in two major futures markets. As of late July, bookmakers place Ohtani at +475 to win the National League home run title, making him the second favorite just behind Raleigh.
For the National League MVP, the market is even more emphatic: even the best offshore betting sites have Ohtani as an overwhelming favorite at -800, with only a small group of competitors, such as Pete Crow-Armstrong and Juan Soto, posting distant odds in the MVP race. Turning to team success, the Dodgers are current favorites to win the 2025 World Series, with odds ranging from +255 to +275—well ahead of their nearest rivals.
Ohtani’s Feat Among the Game’s Legendary Sluggers
Ohtani’s achievement—registering 34 home runs within a team’s first 100 games, twice—is shared by only a handful of power hitters in history. Babe Ruth accomplished this remarkable mark five times during his Hall of Fame career (1920, 1921, 1926, 1928, 1930), setting the early standard for home run exploits. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, synonymous with the late-1990s home run races, each did it three times (McGwire in 1997, 1998, and 1999; Sosa in 1998, 1999, and 2001). Aaron Judge joined this fraternity in 2017 and 2022, while Ohtani’s 2021 campaign with the Angels and his current 2025 output with the Dodgers confirm him as the latest member of this group.
Their multiple-season performances reveal raw power and a rare resilience to maintain a sustained assault on the record books. McGwire and Sosa, in particular, achieved their marks in consecutive seasons, fueling one of baseball’s most mythic eras. Ruth’s dominance, meanwhile, stretched over a decade. Ohtani’s entry is even more significant as it demonstrates his ability to excel across different teams and leagues—a testament to his adaptability and unique two-way value in an era of unprecedented specialization.
Betting Markets and Ohtani’s 2025 Impact
Ohtani’s ongoing home run race against notables like Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge has not gone unnoticed in the betting markets, where his odds have tightened with every home run surge. At +475, Ohtani remains a strong candidate to overcome the slim deficit and capture his first National League home run crown. Should Ohtani sustain his current pace—he’s currently on track for the mid-50s in long balls—he could even threaten the Dodgers’ franchise single-season record and put additional pressure on league leaders in the final two months.
For the 2025 MVP award, Ohtani sits alone at the top with odds as short as -800 at most major sportsbooks, reflecting not merely his home run total but his overall value, including baserunning and a resurgent presence on the mound. Bookmakers see Ohtani’s combination of hitting, running, and pitching as unprecedented, pushing traditional statistical boundaries and reshaping how odds are calculated for MVP markets.
Meanwhile, the Dodgers’ World Series ambitions have similarly buoyed optimism in the betting community. With odds clustering around +255 to +275, Los Angeles is the consensus favorite as July wanes, buoyed by their star-powered roster and Ohtani’s spectacular contributions. Midseason injuries and a highly competitive division have tested the Dodgers’ depth. Still, they remain the top team in baseball according to both Las Vegas bookmakers and the analytics community.
Contextualizing Ohtani’s Place in Baseball History
To understand the magnitude of what Ohtani has accomplished, it’s helpful to consider how rare it is to reach or exceed 34 home runs in a team’s first 100 games, even once, alone multiple times. Historic sluggers like Ruth, McGwire, and Sosa—known for their gaudy single-season totals—invariably did so during their most explosive stretches, yet could not repeat the feat consistently across many years. For Ohtani, doing so with two different teams is a testament to his adaptability and meteoric rise. It’s notable, too, that his blend of power and athleticism—stealing bases and even contributing on the mound—places him in an even smaller club, arguably without a contemporary peer.
Observers have also noted that Ohtani’s 2025 campaign comes during an era of heightened pitching dominance and defensive shifts, further amplifying his performance. With about two-thirds of the regular season completed, Ohtani’s propensity for multi-homer games, sustained slugging percentage, and pace in the National League home run race continue to make him the pivotal figure in both gambling markets and the Dodgers’ drive for postseason success.
Can We Expect More?
Shohei Ohtani’s 2025 season thus far has invigorated a Dodgers team already loaded with expectations and elevated him among the game’s historic power hitters. By joining Ruth, Judge, McGwire, and Sosa as the only players in MLB history with two or more seasons of 34 or more home runs in their first 100 team games, Ohtani’s place among legendary sluggers is secure. His odds of winning the National League home run title and the MVP award reflect his broad statistical contributions. At the same time, the Dodgers’ position as World Series favorites underscores his broader team impact. If the current trends hold, Ohtani may become the centerpiece of a historic Dodger campaign—and further solidify his case as the most dynamic player of the era.
