Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as in a club by himself and on Thursday, he proved it when he became the founding member of Major League Baseball’s 50-50 club.
For those of you (us) who don’t know what that means, Ohtani is first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, a milestone he reached during the Dodgers’ 20-4 game this afternoon against the Miami Marlins.
But that’s not all. On the way to 50-50, Ohtani made history again, scoring his 49th, 50th, and 51st home runs for this season as well as his 49th and 50th stolen bases — making him the first player in the league’s history to hit three home runs and to steal two bases in one game.
Watch the moment Ohtani hit home run 51 below:
“While Shohei Ohtani has been a groundbreaking player for many years, his latest feat at the first 50/50 player in the history of Major League Baseball reflects not just his amazing power-and-speed talent, but his character, his drive, and his commitment to all-around excellence,” Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred said in a statement.
To explain how big of a flex this is for Ohtani, prior to Thursday the elite Home Runs/Stolen Bases group was known as the 40-40 club — a milestone achieved by only 6 other MLB players starting in 1988 with Jose Canseco. Ohtani joined the 40-40 club this year on Aug 23 — doing so in 126 games, the shortest number in MLB history. Just 6 days later he became the first member to make it to at least 43.
It’s expected that Ohtani will win his third MVP award this year, after having previously won the American League MVP twice.
Ohtani signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in 2023 when he signed the largest contract in sports history. As reported by The Athletic, Ohtani chose to defer the vast majority of his salary ($68 million of $70 million a year) until the contract’s completion in 2034. At that point, the money will be paid out between 2034 and 2043.
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