Shohei Ohtani does it! The Dodgers star reaches the 50-50 mark for the first time on a three-homer, 10-RBI day
Superhuman. Otherworldly. Incredible. One of a kind.
All of them have been used to explain Shohei Ohtani Throughout his two-way, two-continent, two-time MVP-winning career; lofty descriptions for a unicorn player unlike any other to ever grace a diamond.
But on Thursday afternoon, in what began as a sleepy matinee at loanDepot Park in downtown Miami, none of those terms captured the most defining performance of Ohtani's baseball life.
Not only did he become the first player in MLB history to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season, eclipsing both marks in the Dodgers win 20-4 over the Miami Marlins, a victory that coincidentally clinched Ohtani's first career postseason invitation, and the 12th consecutive for the Dodgers franchise.
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But he did it with one of the greatest single-match performances the century-and-a-half-old sport has ever seen.
Six hits in six at-bats. Three homers and two steals. Ten RBIs and 17 total bases. And then, at exactly 6:55 p.m. EDT in the top of the seventh inning, an iconic moment that will live forever in baseball immortality.
In his first at-bat with a chance to usher in MLB's 50-50 club, Ohtani hit a historic two-run homer.
“This game has been around for a long time” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts he said. “And doing something that has never been done is unique.”
Ohtani's reaction?
“Just happy, relieved and very respectful to my teammates and everyone who came before me and played the game of baseball,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.
And Ohtani also noted that he's grateful to finally be able to complete the 50-50 chase.
“If I’m honest,” he said, “it was something I wanted to get over as soon as possible.”
The 50th homer was equal parts predictable and surprising: a 391-foot, 109.7 mph blast off a two-strike curveball by Marlins relief pitcher Mike Baumann.
During his previous plate appearance in the sixth inning, Ohtani hit his 49th homer of the season, moving to the brink of history with a mammoth two-run shot deep into the upper deck of the stadium.
When he re-emerged, most of the 15,548 spectators in attendance stood. Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna swapped out his stash of baseballs for ones marked with pre-authentication tags.
In the Dodgers dugout, players and coaches clung to the top railing.
“You know what,” Roberts said when asked if he expected Ohtani to hit a home run, “I kind of expected it.”
“I didn’t expect him to go to the back,” Roberts added. “But I thought, ‘Wow, this guy is locked in.’ You could tell he wasn’t going to let it go… I don’t think he was going to be denied tonight.”
The only person who could have denied Ohtani at that point was Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who had the option of intentionally walking Ohtani with first base open and a right-hander on the mound.
However, television cameras captured Schumaker rejecting the idea with a blunt “Fuck that.”
“It's a bad decision from a baseball standpoint, a karma standpoint and a bad decision from the baseball gods,” Schumacher said later in his postgame news conference. “Go after him and see if you can get him out.”
Ohtani fouled off his first two pitches, hitting a pair of hard fastballs in the zone. Then, after dropping a curveball to the ground, he immediately hit another one to the center of the plate.
As he had done 49 times previously this season, the 30-year-old slugger planted his left foot, violently swung his hips and destroyed the baseball with a majestic, piercing crack of the bat.
When the opposite-field throw landed on a pole beyond the left-field wall, Ohtani dropped his bat, clenched his arms and screamed toward his dugout as he ran down the first-base line.
By the time he crossed the plate, many of his teammates were already on the field to greet him. Almost all of them had the same expression of amazement.
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“In that situation, for him to know he’s right there on the edge of history, and somehow stay within a pitch and hit a line drive to left-center field and not try to get too big,” third baseman Max Muncy said, “is just incredible.”
“I almost cried, to be honest,” infielder Miguel Rojas added. “It was a lot of emotions, because of everything that goes on behind the scenes that we get to witness every day.”
“I think it just felt good, it felt sexy and I just knew, 'I'm about to do this today,'” she said. Mookie Bettswho witnessed the moment from the on-deck circle. “I mean, I could have hit four home runs today. I have no words.”
Beyond its 50-50 significance, Thursday's game was historic from several other standpoints.
Ohtani's 50th home run set a franchise record for the Dodgers (91-62), surpassing Shawn GreenThe previous high of 49 was set in 2001.
His 10 RBIs on Thursday were also a franchise record, along with his first career game with three homers and a career-high six hits.
Never before in MLB's modern era, which dates back to 1901, has a player had five extra-base hits and multiple stolen bases in the same game: Ohtani stole his 50th by taking third base in the first inning and then added his 51st steal without a throw to second base in the top of the second.
He finished the day with 51 home runs, also finding second place again in the ninth inning against position pitcher Vidal Bruján.
“Ideally, the goal of a home run is not the best way to get there,” Ohtani said. “So I tried to focus on having quality at-bats, so in addition to the home runs I hit, I was able to put together some really good at-bats throughout the game today.”
Ohtani has accomplished the unthinkable since he arrived in the majors in 2018. He became MLB's first truly two-way player since Babe Ruth A century earlier, he won a Rookie of the Year award and two Most Valuable Player awards. He led Japan to the World Baseball Classic championship. in 2023, clinching a title in the same ballpark where he made history Thursday. He earned a record, if long-delayed, $700 million contract to join the Dodgers this offseason.
This season, however, presented Ohtani with a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery late last season, Ohtani has been unable to pitch all year. And while he hasn't taken the mound, his singular approach as a designated hitter has created possibilities that once seemed out of reach.
Ohtani had approached 50 homers before, hitting 46 of them in 2021 and 44 in just 135 games last season.
But his power this year has only been amplified. Ohtani's 51 home runs are the most in the National League, and trail only Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. He also leads the NL in slugging percentage, OPS and RBIs.
Fifty stolen bases was the most unexpected achievement, a mark Ohtani might never have reached if he were still pitching.
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As a full-time two-way player, he never stole more than 26 bases in a single MLB season, always pacing himself on the bases to conserve energy (and protect his body) while starting games roughly once per week.
This year, though, Ohtani's willingness to run — and the confidence to do so — has only grown as the season has progressed. With his two steals Thursday, he's now stolen 28 consecutive bases without being caught.
“He knew he wasn’t going to pitch this year, so I think he had a goal before the season started and that was to get a lot of stolen bases and a lot of home runs,” the outfielder said. Teoscar Hernandez “Everybody knows he can hit home runs. Everybody knows he can steal bases. But doing what he’s doing, he’s been consistent all year. It’s been unbelievable. All the work he’s put in is paying off.”
The only thing Ohtani didn't get Thursday was his second career cycle, missing it by just a triple after being tagged out trying to extend his third-inning double to third.
Roberts also lamented that the 50-50 milestone was not achieved at home, as large crowds are expected at Dodger Stadium in the upcoming home series.
“I know there are a lot of fans in Los Angeles,” Roberts said, “who are disappointed that I didn’t do it in Los Angeles.”
But delaying greatness is not Ohtani's style.
Just like last month, when he became the sixth member of The MLB 40-40 club By recording both 40s in the same game, he didn't want his 50-50 chase to drag on any longer.
“You could clearly see that look in his eyes,” Roberts said. “He wanted to get this over with tonight.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
