Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable season can be encapsulated simply: unable to pitch in 2024, he turned his focus to stealing nearly 60 bases.
Throughout his career, Ohtani has shown glimpses of speed, but this season’s 59 stolen bases shattered his previous record of 26. The former and future MVP made a deliberate decision to disrupt defenses on the bases, and this surge in thefts cannot be solely attributed to MLB rule alterations, as he managed only 20 steals in 2023, the year those changes were introduced.
This change in strategy has made Ohtani the first player in MLB history to achieve a 50-50 season, positioning him for his third MVP award and his first in the National League.
But just how fast is Ohtani? His sprint speed averaged 28.1 mph this season, placing him 152nd out of 488 players with at least 25 competitive runs, according to Baseball Savant.
Despite being above-average in speed, Ohtani’s numbers might not align with the expectations for someone who stole 59 bases. He does not match the 30 mph sprint speed of the league’s stolen base leader, Elly De La Cruz, and is closer to the average of 27 mph than to elite speedsters like De La Cruz or Bobby Witt Jr.
Ohtani has capitalized on his chances to run; he draws walks frequently, leading to more opportunities and his height aids in covering distances between bases. However, being tall can also slow a player down. Both Ohtani (6’4″) and De La Cruz (6’5″) have defied this trend with their successful base-running.
“You don’t expect a guy to be built like that to be able to move how he does,” teammate Gavin Lux remarked in May, reflecting on Ohtani’s ability to navigate the bases.
Timing and awareness, such as understanding the proper lead to take and knowing when to steal, are crucial skills, and Ohtani’s impressive 93.7 percent success rate on stolen base attempts highlights his proficiency in these areas.
Among the fastest players in the MLB for 2024, those with the highest average sprint speeds (with at least 25 competitive runs) include:
– Bobby Witt Jr. (30.5 mph, Royals, 31 SB)
– Johan Rojas (30.1 mph, Phillies, 25 SB)
– Elly De La Cruz (30.0 mph, Reds, 67 SB)
– Tyler Fitzgerald (30.0 mph, Giants, 17 SB)
– Pete Crow-Armstrong (30.0 mph, Cubs, 27 SB)
– Victor Scott II (30.0 mph, Cardinals, 5 SB)
– Jorge Mateo (29.9 mph, Orioles, 13 SB)
– Jose Siri (29.9 mph, Rays, 14 SB)
– Garrett Hampson (29.8 mph, Royals, 7 SB)
– Jeremy Pena (29.8 mph, Astros, 20 SB)
– Johnny DeLuca (29.8 mph, Rays, 16 SB)
– Wyatt Langford (29.8 mph, Rangers, 19 SB)
Ohtani’s 28.1 mph sprint speed puts him outside the top tier, but sprint speed doesn’t always translate directly to a high stolen base count.
Many of the top-speed players are used part-time, as raw speed isn’t the sole criterion for daily lineups. Other speedy players, like Witt, tend to avoid excessive risk of injury.
Both De La Cruz and Ohtani embraced a style of play focused on chaos on the bases, and Ohtani’s achievement of 59 stolen bases without elite speed adds to the significance of his accomplishment this season.