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Shohei Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to post 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a single season last year. He is on pace to do something similar in 2025.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star became the first player in MLB to reach double-digit homers and stolen bases this season, hitting his 10th homer in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. You might recall him reaching the 50-50 milestone in epic fashion at the same stadium last year.
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In the case of Tuesday’s game, Ohtani’s homer was a no-doubter to the upper-deck in right field, tying the game 2-2.
That came a day after Ohtani hit a different homer 117.9 mph, the hardest-hit homer MLB has seen this season.
Freddie Freeman followed up Tuesday’s homer by going back-to-back with his eighth homer of the season to put the Dodgers ahead.
With 34 games played for the Dodgers this season, Ohtani is now on pace to post a 47-47 season, assuming he plays in all 126 games left on the schedule. That would have been an unprecedented accomplishment had it not been for his 2024 season, which also saw him earn his third career MVP award, win his first World Series title and finish a few hits short of the Triple Crown.
Shohei Ohtani is doing exactly what he did last year. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
Of course, Ohtani could make a different sort of history just by returning to the mound while maintaining his current offensive pace. You could even call it the 40-40-40 club: 40 homers, 40 stolen bases, 40 strikeouts pitched.
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The third leg of that trifecta assumes Ohtani returns to the mound at some point this season and throws enough innings to log the requisite strikeouts. His progress on that front has been murky at best — he was announced last year to be on pace for this year’s Opening Day, but a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder from the World Series paused his progress over the offseason.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said last weekend Ohtani is still a couple months away from being ready before he’s pitching for the team again. He’s thrown a few bullpen sessions this season, but is evidently still multiple steps away from resuming his two-way status.
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