Shohei Ohtani tracker: Dodgers star reaches 53-57, breaks Ichiro Suzuki SB record

Shohei Ohtani achieved an unprecedented 50-50 season on September 19, with 50 home runs and 50 steals in the same season. He then made it to the 51-51 club in the same game, while helping his team clinch the first playoff berth of his career.

But that wasn’t the end of his history this season.

On Friday, Ohtani hit an RBI single and then stole his 57th base of the season in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies, pushing his foray into the record books to 53-57 and tying Ichiro Suzuki’s record for stolen bases in a single season by a Japanese broke. born player.

That single also put Ohtani at 11 for his last 12 with runners in scoring position, which doesn’t sound possible.

With the NL West and a wild-card bye now in hand after a series win over the San Diego Padres, the Dodgers can take a relaxed approach to their final series of the season. However, with the offensively friendly confines of Coors Field to play in, it would be hard to blame Ohtani for doing all he can to put another exclamation point on one of the best seasons ever.

What is Shohei Ohtani after?

With only a few games left in the season, Ohtani doesn’t have much time to push his numbers into even more ridiculous territory, but he’ll try.

With 53 home runs, 57 steals and two games remaining after Friday, Ohtani is on pace to finish the season with 54 home runs and 58 stolen bases. Of course, all he needs is one ridiculous game, which Coors Field is absolutely capable of, to pull off a 55-55 season.

Ohtani reached 50-50 in spectacular fashion

Ohtani not only went 50-50 on September 19, he burst through the new club’s walls like the Kool-Aid Man with one of the best offensive games in MLB history. His overall line: 6-for-6, three home runs, two stolen bases, two doubles, four runs and 10 RBI.

It was the first three-homer, two-steal game and the 16th 10-RBI game in MLB history. If there is a better performance in one game, it was four home runs.

The final piece of the 50-50 puzzle came in the seventh inning of that game against the Miami Marlins, off reliever Mike Baumann.

Ohtani had reached the half-century milestone in steals early in the first inning, stealing third place after opening the game with a double, then adding his 51st steal in the second inning on an RBI single. His only elimination of the game came during his next at-bat in the third, when his ball fell short of a home run and he was thrown out trying to convert a double into a triple.

If the ball had gone further, it would have been a four-home run game. If Ohtani had been a little faster, it would have been a cycle.

Ohtani’s next three at-bats all resulted in home runs, with the exclamation point arriving in the ninth inning against position player-pitcher Vidal Brujan.

Shohei Ohtani’s history goes beyond 50-50

Besides creating the 50-50 club, Ohtani has done more than enough to make his first season with the Dodgers unforgettable.

In terms of reaching certain numbers of home runs and stolen bases, Ohtani has ventured deep into uncharted territory. In August, he became the sixth player to ever reach 40-40 – joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodríguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr. – and he did it in record time. The first of these players to reach both thresholds was Soriano on September 16, 2006.

And Ohtani’s 40th home run was a special one: a walk-off grand slam.

Rodriguez previously held the record for most in both categories, with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases in 1998. Ohtani matched that season mark of 42-42 on his bobblehead night on August 28 and surpassed it two days later on August 30.

Ohtani’s home run total surpasses his previous record of 46 in 2021, his first MVP year, and he has shattered his previous record in steals (26, also in 2021). He currently leads the NL in home runs and trails only Elly De La Cruz in steals.

The September 19 game was Ohtani’s 13th game of the season with at least one home run and one steal, tying him with Rickey Henderson for the most in MLB history in 1986. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. Ohtani took sole possession of the record a day later, when he hit home run No. 52 and stole base No. 52.

Ohtani’s 50th homer also broke the Dodgers’ single-season homer record, previously held by Shawn Green with 49 in 2001. He also reached 400 total bases this season on Thursday, making him the first player since 2001 to reach the threshold.

And of course, Ohtani set records for both contract size ($700 million) and deferred contract money ($680 million) when he signed with the Dodgers before this season.

Ohtani has built his career as unprecedented. Even in a season where he can’t pitch after undergoing UCL surgery in late 2023, he’s still doing things MLB has never seen.