Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani moved closer to potentially achieving baseball’s first ever 50-50 season on Wednesday night, accomplishing both a home run and a stolen base in the team’s victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, with a final score of 10-8. Ohtani hit his 47th home run of the season and stole his 48th base, as the Dodgers enter the final stretch with 16 games remaining.
After the game, Dodgers catcher Will Smith remarked, “We all definitely know what’s going on. It’s fun to watch. It’s enjoyable to experience every night. I think he’ll do it. I’m just trying to enjoy it as he tries to get there, but more importantly he’s trying to help us win ballgames.”
Ohtani’s 48 stolen bases this season set a personal best, surpassing his previous high of 26. His home run on Wednesday night also established a new career-high, breaking his record of 46 from his MVP season in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels. For the past four years, Ohtani has hit at least 44 home runs in three of those seasons.
This marks the 12th instance this season in which Ohtani has hit a home run and stolen a base in the same game, leading the league ahead of Francisco Lindor, who has accomplished this feat seven times. The all-time record for such games is 13. The leaderboard for this record includes:
Rickey Henderson, 1986: 13
Bobby Bonds, 1973: 12
Ronald Acuña Jr., 2023: 12
Shohei Ohtani, 2024: 12
Four players tied with 11 (most recently Christian Yelich in 2019)
On August 24, Ohtani joined the exclusive 40-40 club with a walk-off grand slam. He achieved this feat in just 129 team games, the fastest in history. This marks only the sixth instance of a 40-40 season, joining the ranks of Acuña (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996), and Jose Canseco (1988). Ohtani is also the first player to reach as many as 47 home runs and 48 steals in a single season.
Following Wednesday’s game, Ohtani’s batting statistics stand at .292/.375/.617 in his debut season with the Dodgers. He leads the National League in several categories, including home runs (47), runs (116), slugging percentage (.617), OPS (.992), total bases (353), and WAR (7.2).