- Shohei Ohtani accomplishes a rare baseball first
Superhuman. Otherworldly. Incomparable.
Fans are running out of superlatives to describe Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s brilliant performance this year.
One moniker that’s often used and perhaps most aptly, however, is unicorn. The mythical horned horse has come to symbolize the unique, extraordinary and even the impossible.
Ohtani reached rarefied air Thursday in Miami.
The 30-year-old Japanese sensation crushed three home runs in the Dodgers’ 20-4 victoryover the Marlins to become the first baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season in Major League Baseball history.
There have nearly 21,000 players since 1876, according to the Baseball Almanac, and Ohtani became the founding member of the 50-50 club.
“This game has been around for a long time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told The Times on Thursday. “And to do something that’s never been done — he’s one of one.”
My colleague Jack Harris chronicled Ohtani’s amazing accomplishment and the aftermath of a truly special day.
Anticipation grows with each at bat
For weeks, each of Ohtani’s trips to the plate had been accompanied by questions across the press boxes of America’s ballparks.
Is Ohtani going to homer? Is he going to steal?
Ohtani entered Thursday’s contest with a National League-leading 48 home runs and 49 stolen bases.
First three at-bats
In his first at-bat Thursday, he smashed a screaming line drive thudding off the wall in right-center for a double.
After a walk to the Dodgers’ next batter, Freddie Freeman, the fleet-footed Ohtani slid under the tag of Marlins rookie Connor Norby at third base for a successful stolen base.
His 50th steal was down. Two home runs were left to go.
After his leadoff double and steal, Ohtani hooked an RBI single in the second inning, and then stole second without a throw 48 home runs, 51 steals.
He doubled in the third inning in his third at-bat, knocking in two runs. In his only blemish of the evening, Ohtani was thrown out trying to turn a double into a triple.
For the rest of the game, the National League home run leader moved into the power portion of his two-act affair.