Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made significant strides towards achieving baseball’s first-ever 50-50 season on Wednesday night. Ohtani hit his 47th home run of the season and stole his 48th base during the Dodgers’ victory over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, ending with a score of 10-8. With 16 games left in the season, Ohtani is in pursuit of this historic milestone.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith commented on Ohtani’s achievements, saying, “We all definitely know what’s going on. It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to get a chance to see it 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.”
The 48 stolen bases this season are a career high for Ohtani, surpassing his previous best of 26. Additionally, Wednesday’s home run set a new personal record, breaking his previous high of 46, achieved during his MVP season in 2021 with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani has now hit at least 44 home runs in three of the past four seasons.
This marks the 12th occasion this year that Ohtani has both homered and stolen a base in the same game, putting him well ahead of Francisco Lindor, who has accomplished this seven times. The all-time record stands at 13 such games, held by Rickey Henderson.
Ohtani joined the exclusive 40-40 club with a walk-off grand slam on August 24, and he achieved this milestone in just 129 team games, the fastest in history. Only five other players have recorded a 40-40 season: Ronald Acuña Jr., Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Jose Canseco. Ohtani is the first player to have reached at least 47 home runs and 48 steals in a single season.
Following Wednesday’s performance, Ohtani’s batting average improved to .292 with a slugging percentage of .617 in his debut season with the Dodgers. He currently leads the National League in several categories, including home runs, runs, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases, and WAR.