History beckoned Shohei Ohtani with two out in the bottom of the ninth Friday. When Tampa Bay pitcher Colin Poche fired a first-pitch slider, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar blasted the ball into orbit for a walk-off grand slam to give the Dodgers a 7-3 victory.
It was his 40th home run of the season. Earlier in the game, Ohtani stole his 40th base.
Is there a more dramatic way to join one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs?
Only five players in major-league history had ever hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a single season. None had done it in fewer games than Ohtani’s 126. He remains on pace to become the first player to log a 45-45 season.
The round numbers of this 40-40 milestone looked inevitable. Ohtani himself has never laid out such a concrete focus on achieving what only José Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) have done before, saying last week, “If that’s the end result of what the season is, then I’m happy for it.”
It wound up being the result before the end of August.
“I do think 40-40 is something that was on his radar from spring training,” manager Dave Roberts said recently.
Ohtani got there by tapping into his running ability like never before. Given a year away from the mound as he recovers from a second major elbow surgery, Ohtani has found an alternate way to provide something new. He smashed Gary Sheffield’s record for most stolen bases by a primary designated hitter (22) by July 13. He surpassed his career-high in steals (26) by July 28. He reached 30-30 with a flourish, swiping three bags in one game for the first time in his career.
“I think he has bought into stealing bases, understands the value of the stolen base, getting 90 feet,” Roberts said not long ago. “Hasn’t surprised me. I think it’s welcome for me, for him, because he’s in a pennant race now. And I don’t think he’s been in a pennant race in his big-league career. So his enhanced focus is not a surprise to me.”
4️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/Bsv4cpzBql
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 24, 2024
This is Ohtani’s first season with the Dodgers after signing a record 10-year, $700 million deal. Unable to pitch this season, he has redirected his time to learning the nuances of the running game. Ohtani works with first-base coach Clayton McCullough to break down the art of base stealing, which includes identifying different pitcher tells for optimal jumps.
“I think he’s always been a student of these things,” McCullough said. “I think now with having less on his plate from a preparation standpoint and the pitching, more focus can be put on it.”
Ohtani’s home run power was much more predictable. This is the third 40-home run season of his career, matching the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the most among active major leaguers. Ohtani remains on pace for 50 home runs, which would establish his career high (he hit 46 in 2021) and break Shawn Green’s Dodgers franchise record (49 in 2001).
A quiet August at the plate tempered Ohtani’s chase for the Triple Crown, but Ohtani still only trails Judge among the home run leaders in the bigs this season.
“Honestly, the way the ball comes off (his bat), I’ve never seen anything like it, and I haven’t seen (Giancarlo) Stanton a lot,” Roberts said. “I played with Barry Bonds, and the ball just didn’t come off like it does on Shohei’s bat. And Barry might be his greatest hitter of all time. But what Shohei does, how hard the ball comes off, it’s just different than anything I’ve ever seen.”
(Photo of Shohei Ohtani from Aug. 14: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
