(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Shohei Ohtani’s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers is going just about as well as anyone could have expected, and his consistent dominance at the plate has been a driving force for a team that has been decimated by injuries to both its pitching staff and its lineup.
He is the current betting favorite to become the first designated hitter to win an MVP award, and it is because of a historic pace that has him projected to be the first player to accomplish an impressive statistical feat.
The Athletic pointed out how Ohtani is on pace to become the first player in MLB history to hit 45 home runs and steal 45 bases in the same season, with Fabian Ardaya writing, “He’s trying to dominate on every margin” in a recent article.
Shohei Ohtani is on pace to become the first player in MLB history to have a 45-45 season.
“He’s trying to dominate on every margin.”@FabianArdaya examines Ohtani remaking himself as a base stealer https://t.co/4KF6Vt1fh8 pic.twitter.com/1hllFEJxEd
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 16, 2024
Ardaya added, “The power was a given. The speed was coming. And even in a year where Shohei Ohtani’s not pitching, his assault on the record book continues.”
Only five players in MLB history are in the 40-40 club: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuna Jr.
Rodriguez’s 46 steals in 1998, Soriano’s 46 homers in 2006, and Acuna’s 73 steals in 2023 were the only instances of a player putting up more than 45 homers or steals in a 40-40 season, as all five players cleared the 40-40 mark just slightly in at least one of the two categories.
Ohtani is currently on pace for 49 homers and 46 steals, so getting to 40-40 should be easy at his current pace.
If he really pushes it, he has a legitimate shot at becoming the first player in the 50-50 club.
The post Shohei Ohtani Is On Pace To Make MLB History This Season appeared first on The Cold Wire.