Mission potential: Shohei Ohtani defies logic as he opens 50-50 membership in model

This season wasn’t presupposed to be about Shohei Ohtani’s stats.

After three years of more and more mind-blowing on-field achievements from the two-way participant, Ohtani’s offseason bounce from the Angels to the Dodgers launched a wealth of intriguing new storylines involving the once-in-a-lifetime expertise. However with elbow surgical procedure on the finish of final season proscribing Ohtani to DH duties in 2024, our collective intuition was to place our hopes for extra never-before-seen feats on maintain for a 12 months whereas he rehabbed his method again to two-way standing.

Within the meantime, there was no scarcity of fascinating subplots to observe: A $700 million free-agent contract with unprecedented deferrals. Ohtani’s match atop a lineup with two different MVPs in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. How he would deal with his DH tasks whereas concurrently rehabbing the second elbow surgery of his career. A gambling scandal involving his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, that rocked the baseball world simply earlier than Opening Day. The possibility to play in October after six consecutive dropping seasons in Anaheim. Teaming up with another Japanese superstar in Yoshinobu Yamamoto. His wife! His dog! And on and on.

With a lot else surrounding Ohtani’s debut season in Dodger blue, his uncooked statistical output — briefly restricted to that of only a hitter (and one who doesn’t play protection) — appeared more likely to be secondary.

Or so we thought.

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As a substitute, as soon as once more, Ohtani has found a way to make history. On Thursday towards the Marlins at loanDepot Park, he grew to become the primary participant ever to gather 50 dwelling runs and 50 stolen bases in an MLB season. After which he grew to become the primary participant to gather 51 of every.

“I am pleased, relieved, and really respectfully to the friends and all people who got here earlier than who performed this sport of baseball,” Ohtani stated by an interpreter after the Dodgers’ 20-4 romp over the Marlins.

A playful Mookie Betts told reporters that he sensed one thing else from his teammate on his historic day.

“I do not even know if it was like a reduction factor,” Betts stated. “I believe it was like he was simply feeling good and feeling horny, and simply knew, like, ‘I am about to do that at present.’ He might’ve had 4 homers at present.”

Ohtani’s gradual march towards an unfathomable milestone concluded with the most effective offensive performances of his already-legendary big-league tenure: a career-high six hits, with three dwelling runs, two stolen bases and 10 runs batted in (a Dodgers document). Never before had a participant accomplished all of those things in a single major-league sport, and Ohtani did so whereas concurrently founding a membership that didn’t beforehand exist. Barely talked about was the truth that it was additionally the primary three-homer sport of his MLB profession.

“To be trustworthy, I’m the one most likely most stunned,” Ohtani stated, according to the Associated Press. “I do not know the place this got here from, however I’m glad that it was going nicely at present.”

It was a most memorable day in the identical ballpark the place Ohtani gave us the singular spotlight of the 2023 World Baseball Traditional, when he struck out Mike Trout to clinch victory for Crew Japan. He clearly likes taking part in in South Florida.

“I’ve had maybe probably the most memorable moments right here in my profession, and this stadium has turn out to be one in all my favourite stadiums,” he stated.

By no means earlier than has there been a participant like Shohei Ohtani.

So sure, the inaugural member of the 50-50 membership is similar participant who struck out 167 batters in 132 innings final 12 months and is working his method again for a possible return to the mound this postseason. Ohtani’s fiftieth dwelling run marked a brand new Dodgers single-season franchise document, surpassing Shawn Inexperienced’s 49 lengthy balls in 2001 — and that’s virtually only a footnote.

Ohtani’s newest and biggest achievement was months within the making however hardly a certainty till not too long ago. With 14 dwelling runs and 13 stolen bases by the tip of Could, he was firmly on monitor for the most effective power-speed season of his profession however not essentially on tempo to do one thing unprecedented. On June 16, Ohtani hit two dwelling runs in Kansas Metropolis to carry his season whole to 19 dwelling runs and 15 stolen bases. At that time, 30-30 appeared doubtless, with 40-40 believable.

However one thing else occurred in that June 16 sport that dramatically altered the course of Ohtani’s season: Betts suffered a fractured left wrist on a success by pitch. This was a brutal blow for the Dodgers. However Betts’ two-month absence launched an surprising dynamic to the highest of the Dodgers’ lineup: Ohtani the leadoff hitter.

Moderately than conserving Ohtani within the two-hole and changing Betts with another person, supervisor Dave Roberts opted to maneuver his latest famous person to the highest of the order. Ohtani had some expertise within the position, with 61 video games batting leadoff throughout his six years in Anaheim. So it was a logical answer, if seemingly a brief one, however nonetheless a substantial adjustment for Ohtani to make on the fly after being sandwiched between his fellow MVPs atop the lineup for the primary third of the season.

In fact, he responded brilliantly. Ohtani seamlessly tailored to the brand new challenges — and alternatives — inherent in main off. He maintained his slugging methods whereas amplifying his contributions on the basepaths to higher embody his new position. Living proof: He launched eight dwelling runs in his first 13 video games because the Dodgers’ leadoff man after which swiped 12 luggage in July, probably the most he’d ever collected in a single month in his profession.

August, although, is when Ohtani really kicked into overdrive — a lot in order that when Betts returned to the lineup, it was a simple resolution for the Dodgers to maintain Ohtani within the leadoff spot. His 12 homers and 15 steals in August made him simply the eighth player ever to gather no less than 10 homers and 10 stolen bases in a calendar month.

“Particularly with Mookie, he clearly was harm and was out for an excellent chunk of the season,” Ohtani stated Thursday. “I ended up main off. And when he got here again, we determined to make it a precedence to ensure that we had been speaking with one another in order that we have now a greater move hitting one and two within the lineup. I believe that’s one thing I’ll proceed to do with him as we put together for the postseason.”

Ohtani joined the 40-40 club in emphatic fashion towards the Rays on Aug. 23: After stealing his fortieth base of the season within the fourth inning, Ohtani launched a walk-off grand slam for his fortieth homer to seal the victory for Los Angeles. The earliest any of the earlier 5 members of the 40-40 membership had reached each milestones was Alfonso Soriano in 2006, who stole his fortieth base within the Nationals’ 148th sport of the season. Ohtani did it in Recreation No. 129.

This blistering tempo opened the door for the unthinkable: a 50-50 season. As Ohtani had already accomplished so many occasions in his profession, the boundaries of what had beforehand been thought potential on a baseball area had been shattered.

And so, he cast forward and, ultimately, turned the unattainable into actuality.