MIAMI —
From the moment his walk-off grand slam cleared the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium last month, giving Shohei Ohtani his 40th home run of the season on the same night he recorded his 40th stolen base, all the attention immediately turned to what could be next.
Five players in major league history had accomplished a 40-40 season before.
But 50-50? That unprecedented mark suddenly appeared within reach.
“The chase is on,” manager Dave Roberts said then.
And on Thursday afternoon, on the day he experienced his first postseason clinch as a major league player, Ohtani crossed the finish line in awe-inspiring style against the Miami Marlins.
After entering the game with 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases, Ohtani had one of his biggest performances all year.
He stole two bases in the first two innings, picking up No. 50 after doubling in the first (then swiping third by avoiding a bad tag) then No. 51 after an RBI single in the second.
In the third, Ohtani appeared to have a potential cycle on his mind, getting thrown out at third trying to stretch a two-run double into a triple.
But then, he shifted his focus to 50-50 history instead.
In the sixth inning, Ohtani found the second deck of loanDepot Park for the second time this week, whacking a two-run blast that tied Shawn Green’s club record for home runs in a season at 49.
Then, in the top of the seventh inning, Ohtani reached baseball immortality, hitting a two-run home run to join a newly founded 50-50 club of one and give the Dodgers a 14-3 lead over the Marlins.
“I think he wants to be the best player that’s ever played this game,” Roberts said recently. “And one way to do that is to do something nobody has ever done.”
Ohtani has been accomplishing the unthinkable ever since he arrived in the majors in 2018. He became MLB’s first true two-way player since Babe Ruth a century earlier. He won a Rookie of the Year and two MVP awards. He netted a record-breaking, albeit heavily deferred, $700 million contract to join the Dodgers this offseason.
This season, however, presented Ohtani a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery late last season, he hasn’t been able to pitch all year. And while he has missed the mound, his singular focus as a designated hitter created possibilities that once seemed out of reach.
Ohtani had approached 50 home runs before, clubbing 46 of them in 2021 and 44 in just 135 games last year.
Fifty stolen bases, however, is a mark Ohtani might not have ever reached had he still been pitching. As a full-time two-way player, he never swiped more than 26 in a single MLB campaign, always pacing himself on the base paths to conserve energy (and protect his body) while starting games roughly once per week.
This spring, though, Ohtani’s focus shifted. He worked with the Dodgers player performance and strength and conditioning staff to improve his jumps and acceleration. He dove into scouting reports with first base coach Clayton McCullough on opposing pitchers’ timing and pick-off tendencies, coupling a cerebral component with his explosive raw foot speed.
“I don’t think in years past, watching him, I don’t think he was a great base-stealer, I don’t think he got great jumps,” said Roberts, who once had a 49-steal season in the big leagues and swiped at least 40 bags three times. “But now when I watch him, especially from the third-base dugout at home, where I have a good visual of the pitcher and the runner, his jumps are on point.”
And where does that come from?
“Preparation, repetitions, studying pitchers,” Roberts said.
“I think he likes the challenge of studying pitchers, learning the tendencies,” Roberts added. “I think that’s something that intrigues him.”
The power, of course, has been there too. Ohtani’s 50 home runs are the most in the National League, and behind only Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. He is the NL leader in slugging percentage, OPS and RBIs. And Thursday was his third multi-homer game of the season.
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