It seems like there’s nothing on Earth that Shohei Ohtani can’t do, especially on a baseball field.
OK, we know he can’t throw this season, as he recovers from an elbow injury suffered in 2023. But he certainly knows how to hit, and this year he showed he can run like never before.
He won two unanimous MVP awards and, in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, added another feat to an already exceptional seven-year career. The two-way superstar became the sixth player in MLB history to join the prestigious 40-home-run, 40-stolen-base club in the Dodgers’ 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. He reached the milestone in spectacular fashion, hitting a grand slam that traveled 414 feet to center field on the first pitch he saw from Rays reliever Colin Poche.
In an already legendary career, Friday’s exploits and fireworks were remarkable.
“It’s one of my most memorable moments and I hope I can do more (to create) memorable moments,” Ohtani told reporters through an interpreter in the clubhouse after a wild on-field celebration.
Ohtani joins Ronald Acuña Jr., Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco as the only players to accomplish the illustrious feat. Until Acuña’s 40-70 season en route to the 2023 National League MVP award, the 40-40 feat hadn’t been accomplished in 17 years.
In this elite group, no one has gone faster than Ohtani, who reached rarified air in 126 games. We still have one week left in August. (Soriano previously held the fastest 40-40 distinction with 147 games.)
“Honestly, I’m really happy, but more importantly, I’m really happy that we were able to win today. I’m extremely honored to be a part of this history,” Ohtani said shortly after being doused with water at home plate by his cheering teammates.
His previous career high in stolen bases came in 2021, when he stole 26 bases with the Los Angeles Angels. He also hit a career-high 46 home runs that season, during which he won his first league MVP award.
Ohtani reached 40 stolen bases in the bottom of the fourth inning after reaching base on an infield single. He took second without a pitch from Rays catcher Rob Brantly.
In a season dedicated exclusively to playing as a designated hitter, Ohtani, for the first time in his career, is maximizing the use of speed as a weapon in addition to his lighting-pitch power he’s displayed since arriving in MLB in 2018.
“He’s doing his homework on opposing pitchers,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters of Ohtani’s improved baserunner.
The two-time Dodgers MVP could well be winning his third MVP award and become the first MVP to win the title exclusively as a designated hitter. He would also become the second player in MLB history to win the MVP award in both the American League and the National League, joining Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who did so with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 and the Baltimore Orioles in 1966.
There was as much hype and anticipation for Ohtani this season as there was for any player in baseball history after…
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