MIAMI – In the first season of a record-setting contract, without throwing a single pitch, Shohei Ohtani found a new way to amaze.
Reaching 40 home runs and 40 steals in a single season faster than any player was impressive enough.
But to climb all the way to 50-50? On that mountaintop, Ohtani stands alone.
He reached the summit in style on Thursday by Ohtani slugging two home runs against Miami as part of a 5-for-5 start with 7 RBIs.
“When you’re talking about someone that is close to doing something that’s never been close to being done, 50-50, and that for me, is separating yourself from the field,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said this month.
Only two other players in Major League Baseball history (Barry Bonds, Brady Anderson) had hit both 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in any season of their career, much less the same one.
History has beckoned for the better part of a month. When Ohtani became the fastest player ever to enter the exclusive 40-40 club, he so in dramatic fashion with a walk-off grand slam that stunned even those who have grown immune to Ohtani’s powers.
His pace on the bases has accelerated, and his power has jumped to new heights as Ohtani surpassed his previous career-high of 46 home runs, set in 2021.
That he did all this under the magnified lens of his first season of a 10-year, $700 million contract was staggering.
“Nothing bothers him,” third-base coach Dino Ebel said. “He lives for the moment. He’s born to be in the spotlight. … He knows everybody up here comes to the game now and they stand up. They’re filming it. Every time he gets to the plate, I look back and everybody’s standing. That’s Shohei.”
Added first-base coach Clayton McCullough: “I think he’s aware of all of it. You’re aware of all these things. But the difference is the ability to block it out and still go execute with all the noise surrounding him. That’s what makes the great ones do these things at times where, can you believe they did that in that moment?”
This is Ohtani’s offensive masterpiece. That it was even possible is a testament to the type of talent executives have ogled after, the type that makes mythmaking into reality.
Just like 50-50. And he might not stop there.
“Then he’ll say next year, 55-55, while pitching,” Ebel said. “Don’t be surprised. You start to see him stealing bags early in the year, he’s gonna try to go 50-50 again. Think about it.”
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani: Chris Arjoon / Getty Images)
