Growing his legend: Ohtani establishes 50-50 club
MIAMI—Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani made Major League Baseball (MLB) history on Thursday by becoming the first player ever to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season as his native Japan reacted with incredulity and pride.
Ohtani officially established MLB’s 50-50 club with a seventh-inning homer in the Dodgers’ 20-4 victory over the Marlins, a win that clinched a postseason berth for the Dodgers—a first for Ohtani, who never made the playoffs even as he earned two American League MVPs 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 centerfield wall.
That was his second homer of the night and it gave him 50 for the season, after two stolen bases earlier in the game pushed his tally of steals to 51.
Encore homer
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 was 6-for-6, including two doubles for a total of five extra-base hits for 10 RBIs, and he 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 of his spectacular show through a translator. “I have no idea where this came from, but I’m glad I performed well today.”
Back home, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo: “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart.”
“We sincerely hope Mr. Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further.”
The landmark dominated Japanese morning news shows and social media.
Newspapers rushed out special editions in Tokyo and elsewhere, including in Ohtani’s hometown in the northern Iwate region.
