Shohei Ohtani makes history! Photo from Dodgers Nation X feed.
We are watching the greatest baseball player to ever play the game; Shohei Ohtani. And he is still in his prime. Today, Ohtani made history and highlighted why he is in a league of his own and why he is worth every penny of his 10-year, $700 million contract.
Members Only
Ohtani is now the founding member of the 50/50 club and the 51/51 club by hitting 51 home runs AND stealing 51 bases in a single season in Major League history with nine more games left in the regular season. Membership to the power and speed club requires a player to dominate in both. Most MLB players can only dream to have both skills and to constantly dominate.
For those who don’t understand how hard and impressive access to the 50/50 club is, let’s breakdown how membership works. Only 50 times in MLB history has a player hit 50 or more home runs in a single season. Of those 50 times, 14 also had 10+ stolen bases. But, only four times have they been able to hit 50 home runs and stole a max of 24 bases before Ohtani.
Braves, RF, Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first member of the 40/40 club to have at least 50 in either category (home runs or stolen bases). Acuna stole 73 bases last season, but he only hit 41 home runs. Yankees, 2B, Alfonso Soriano, came the closest to 50 home runs out of the 40/40 club members with 46 home runs in 2006, but he was only able to steal 41 bases. Beka, here is a visual for you:
Members of the 40/40 club
50+ Home Runs in a season with at least 20+ stolen bases.
Two-Way
To be a two-way player you have to be able to pitch and hit. Both extremely difficult to do at the Major League level. Before Ohtani, Babe Ruth was the most famous two-way MLB player. (To be considered a two-way player in MLB you have to pitch at least 20 Major League innings, able to pitch in any situation, and not count toward the active roster pitcher total.)
Ohtani has been a pitcher and two-way player for most of his MLB career, but due to recovering from Tommy John-esque surgery in 2023 he has only been a DH in 2024.
History
Ohtani made history as the only player to be accepted into the 40/40, 50/50 and 51/51 while achieving both stats in the same game. In other words, Ohtani hit the record home run and the record stolen bases in the same game for all three club memberships. Just when we thought his 40/40 club membership with a walk-off grand slam on August 23rd was really special, we witnessed 50/50 and 51/51 membership.
There is no question that September 19th, 2024 made history for the single greatest regular season game by a player EVER! SIX hits, 10 RBIs, four runs scored, three HRs, two doubles, two stolen bases, and one single. (A triple short of completing the cycle; hitting a single, double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. He went for a triple, but he was called out.) This is the most impressive offensive game by a player in MLB history.
It was also the first game in MLB history with three home runs and two stolen bases by a player. Ohtani’s 10 RBIs in a single game are a Dodgers franchise record. Today’s history, helped Los Angeles secure their 12th straight postseason berth. They are on the verge of winning their 11th National League West title in 12 seasons. Not a bad day for Othani to clinch his first-ever trip to the postseason.
In a season full of team injuries, Ohtani has played a major role in keeping the Dodgers in the postseason conversation and in the history books. Now, it’s World Series or bust! Let’s Go Dodgers!
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