LOS ANGELES – This spring, when prompted to say what could be achievable with his new two-way superstar exclusively hitting, Dave Roberts wasn’t sure what to expect.
So much of Shohei Ohtani’s two-way dominance was his ability to play one off the other. Siloing his focus on each allowed the other to thrive, allowing him to turn off a half of himself in the batter’s box and the other once he stepped on the mound.
So when elbow surgery ensured Ohtani would just hit in his first season as a Los Angeles Dodger, that presented a different calculus.
“I don’t know how it’s going to translate as far as performance,” Roberts said. “But I do think that for him to put a lot more time into just the hitting part of it I would assume that it bodes better for him offensively.”
It has translated into perhaps the finest offensive season of his career, with the latest overwhelming evidence coming as Ohtani drove his career-best 47th home run 405 feet into deep right-center at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. The home run was clocked at 118.1 miles per hour off the bat, Ohtani’s third-hardest hit ball of the year.
HR NO. 47
A NEW CAREER HIGH FOR SHOHEI OHTANI! pic.twitter.com/aFE1QBmca2
— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2024
The two-time MVP was on pace to smash his career-best mark, set in 2021, a year ago before an oblique strain ended his final season with the Los Angeles Angels early. Now, he’s added it to the history he’s charted in his first season after signing a record-setting 10-year, $700 million deal. No player in major league history has logged 40 home runs and 40 steals in fewer games than the 126 it took Ohtani this season, with a chance at being the first player ever to reach 50-50 still within reach.
If he does, he will also encroach upon Dodgers history: the franchise record for home runs sits at 49, achieved by Shawn Green in 2001.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
