Shohei Ohtani just did something no pro baseball player has ever done

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. In six at-bats, Ohtani hit three home runs, two doubles, and a single, scoring every time. His hits also led to 10 runs batted in (RBIs), setting a new Dodgers record. And on top of that, he stole two bases. (That means he didn’t just hit the 50/50 mark, he actually now has a record 51 home runs and stolen bases.) 

Notably, Ohtani is also still recovering from an elbow surgery that’s left him unable to pitch this season. 

All that has made Thursday’s game a neat encapsulation of what has made Ohtani a star. He’s demonstrated uncommon versatility in the game as a commanding pitcher and hitter, and now a record-breaking base-stealer, too. Players recovering from surgery often have slow seasons, but that just has not been the case for Ohtani. And as the Washington Post notes, it can take other players several games to do what Ohtani did Thursday in one. That Ohtani was able to achieve so much in Thursday’s game speaks to why he’s one of the most-hyped athletes in Major League Baseball, and already considered by many fans to be one of the greatest players of all time. 

What the record means

The record is a testament to Ohtani’s unique power as a hitter, as well as his speed. 

Ohtani had one of his strongest offensive games of the season on Thursday, ultimately helping the Dodgers land a spot in this year’s playoffs with the runs he scored. He’s also refined his ability to steal bases, improving his “running mechanics” and broader offensive techniques, according to the Wall Street Journal. As ESPN notes, players in Ohtani’s current position — designated hitter, an athlete who stands in to bat for the pitcher — tend to be slow. Before this year, Ohtani hadn’t stolen more than 26 bases in a single season.

Following an injury in 2023, Ohtani was forced to take a break from pitching and instead used that time and energy to improve his base stealing. His latest success also comes after a dramatic sports gambling scandal earlier this year involving his former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, who allegedly stole money from Ohtani to cover debts and pleaded guilty to bank fraud. After an investigation by the League, Ohtani was ultimately exonerated of wrongdoing. 

Ohtani’s record-shattering game this week firmly established his ascendancy in the sport and was broadly cheered by other baseball greats including the Oakland Athletics’ Jose Canseco, who in 1988 was the first player to hit “40/40,” and fellow players like Tampa Bay Rays’ Taylor Walls, who said that his team was watching Ohtani’s game while playing its own. 

“This guy is unreal,” basketball legend Lebron James posted on X.

Ohtani’s colleague on the Dodgers, second baseman Gavin Lux, best summed up Thursday’s game and Ohtani’s style of play.

“That has to be the greatest baseball game of all time. It has to be,” Lux said after the game. “There’s no way. It’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen anybody do that even in Little League, so it’s crazy that he’s doing that at the highest level.”