The Japanese superstar has become the first player in Major League Baseball history to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. Ohtani ended the regular season at an insane 54-59.
Shohei Ohtani has won a piece of baseball history.
Again.
This time, the two-time American League MVP from Japan became the first-ever player in Major League Baseball to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, as if he hasn’t broken enough records in his seven-year big-league career.
Despite still recovering from an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his right elbow, the history-making machine had already added another chapter to his lore in his first year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, joining the select 40-40 club on 23 August in style with a two-out, walk-off grand slam.
Ohtani is only the sixth player to have achieved the feat, and he did it faster than any of them – in just his 126th game, by a whopping 21 games over Alfonso Soriano in 2006.
A week later, the 30-year-old homered for No. 43 and swiped his 43rd base in the same game to become the only player to record a 43-43 campaign.
On 19 September, Ohtani hit the 50-50 plateau with a performance for the ages, belting three homers, stealing two bases, and driving in 10 runs on a 6-for-6 night and arguably the greatest single game performance in MLB stats history.
He followed it up by reaching 400 total bases on 27 September, and finshed the 2024 regular season with a .310 batting average, 54 home runs, 130 RBIs, 59 stolen bases, 134 runs scored and 197 hits – all career-highs – and a chance to play in the postseason for the first time in his career.
SHOHEI OHTANI: CHASING 50-50 – AND BEYOND
2024 stats (at end of regular season)Home RunsStolen Bases5459
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: Shohei Ohtani has achieved baseball’s first-ever 50-50 season. How far can he go?
(2024 Getty Images)
