On September 19th, Shohei Ohtani achieved an unprecedented 50-50 season with 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season. His history-making this season didn’t end there.
Since then, Ohtani has accomplished several more feats, including hitting 400 bases in a season for the first time since 2001 and breaking Ichiro Suzuki’s stolen base record for a Japanese-born player, but there are still big things ahead of him. I have one goal. That’s the Triple Crown. It will require some work.
After going 2-for-5 on Saturday, Ohtani is hitting .310 with one game remaining. In front of him is Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres, who is batting .314 after missing Saturday. Ohtani, who won the National League home run title and the National League RBI title, is one day away from winning the Triple Crown.
The National League hasn’t won the Triple Crown since Joe Medwick did it in 1937.
What Shohei Otani needs to win the Triple Crown
It is difficult to calculate the battle for Otani’s batting average. The big question is whether Arraez will miss Sunday as much as he did Saturday. If so, you know your target is .31388 (those extra numbers are important).
As of Saturday night, Ohtani’s mark was .31013. He could reach Arraez’s current status if he makes four of five games Sunday at Coors Field. It doesn’t work in a 4-on-3 game, and it doesn’t work in a 6-on-4 game.
When Arraez plays, the target starts moving. For example, if Arraez goes 2-for-4, Ohtani could match him at 5-for-6 or pass him at 5-for-5. If Araez does a little better, this problem is basically over.
On the other hand, if Arraez achieved 0 hits in 4 at bats, Ohtani would open the season with 3 hits in 5 at bats, but he was unable to achieve 2 hits in 4 at bats.
This is all very complex, but the basics are very simple. Regardless of whether Arraez plays or not, it means Ohtani needs a big day on Sunday. Considering how he’s played in the past nine games, it feels like it’s possible.
Ohtani made Triple Crown possible with one of the most ridiculous stretches in MLB history
Not only did Ohtani go 50-50 on September 19th, he smashed through the walls of the upstart club like the Kool-Aid Man with one of the best offensive games in MLB history. His total record is 6 hits in 6 at-bats, 3 home runs, 2 stolen bases, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, and 10 RBIs.
This was the first game in MLB history to hit three home runs, steal two bases, and record 10 RBIs for the 16th time. And it was the beginning of one of the greatest developments in MLB history.
Since that game, Ohtani has had 26 hits in 39 at-bats, six home runs, six doubles, nine stolen bases, 15 runs scored, and 20 RBIs in nine games.
Before September 19, Ohtani was hitting .287 and Arraez was hitting .320. After that, Arraez had 5 hits in 28 at bats, opening the door to a dramatic final day. Ohtani’s 2024 season is already an all-time great feat, but winning the Triple Crown would leave a once-in-a-generation mark in the record books.
Shohei Otani’s history is more than 50/50, and there is a possibility of winning the Triple Crown
Besides building a 50-50 club and a shot at winning the Triple Crown, Ohtani did more than enough to make his first season with the Dodgers a memorable one.
Ohtani is venturing deep into uncharted territory when it comes to hitting certain numbers in home runs and stolen bases. In August, he became the sixth player to reach 40 wins and 40 losses, joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, and Ronald Acuña Jr., doing so in record time. . The earliest of these players to reach both standards was Soriano on September 16, 2006.
Ohtani’s 40th home run was a special walk-off home run with the bases loaded.
Rodriguez previously held the records in both categories with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases in 1998. Ohtani matched that 42-42 season on Bobblehead Night on Aug. 28 and surpassed it two days later on Aug. 30.
Ohtani’s number of home runs exceeded his career high of 46 in 2021, his first MVP year, and he also broke his previous record for stolen bases (26, also set in 2021). He currently leads the National League in home runs and ranks second only to Elie Delacruz in stolen bases.
According to Fabian Aldaya of The Athletic, the Sept. 19 game was Ohtani’s 13th game of the season with at least one home run and one stolen base, which ties him with Rickey Henderson in 1986 for the most in MLB history. It became. The next day, Ohtani dominated this record by hitting his 52nd home run and stealing his 52nd base. Friday marked the 15th issue, extending the record.
Ohtani’s 50 home runs also broke the Dodgers’ single-season home run record, which was held by Sean Green in 2001 with 49. He reached 400 bases this season on Thursday, becoming the first player since 2001 to reach the milestone.
And of course, Ohtani set records for both contract value ($700 million) and deferred signing bonus ($680 million) when he signed with the Dodgers before this season.
Ohtani has built a career on something unprecedented. Even though he is unable to pitch due to UCL surgery at the end of 2023, he continues to do things that have never been done before in MLB.