Ohtani’s staggering new stat cements his dominance in the sport.
During a Thursday Los Angeles Dodgers game versus the Miami Marlins, baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani hit a record that no other player has reached.
In that game, Ohtani became the first baseball player to reach the elusive “50/50” milestone, which translates to hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases in one season. This new stat surpasses records set by then-Seattle Mariner Alex Rodriguez in 1998, when he achieved a “42/42,” and Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases in 2023. It’s particularly impressive because most players are either muscular power hitters or speedy base stealers, not both.
This latest record also only adds to Ohtani’s dominance in Major League Baseball. First signed to the Los Angeles Angels in 2017, Ohtani has long been considered uniquely talented because of how good he is at both hitting and pitching, a rare combination. Given his strengths as a “two-way player” – of a caliber not seen since the likes of Babe Ruth – he secured one of the most lucrative contracts in the sport when the Dodgers offered him a 10-year $700 million deal in 2023. Since joining the MLB, Ohtani has become the first player in recent memory to be in the top 15 for both home runs scored and strikeouts pitched in a single season.
In addition to being the only member of the 50/50 club, Ohtani turned in a historically strong game on Thursday.
