In his first season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, superstar Shohei Ohtani has done something that no other player for Los Angeles ever has. He officially joined the 40/40 club on Friday night in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays and did so in dramatic fashion.
With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Ohtani came up to bat. In classic Ohtani form, he hit a walk-off grand slam to not only give the Dodgers the win but to join the 40-40 club.
Entering Friday's game, Ohtani was one stolen base and one home run shy of the feat. But once the game was over, Ohtani became only the sixth player in MLB history to accomplish this.
He joins Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Alfonso Soriano, and Ronald Acuña Jr. on the exclusive list of players to reach this milestone. Ohtani also became the quickest player to get to this point in a season.
Each of the other milestones was reached in mid-to-late September. Rodriguez hit home run No. 40 on Sept. 19, Bonds grabbed base No. 40 on Sept. 27, Canseco stole base No. 40 on Sept. 23, Soriano stole his 40th base on Sept. 16, and Acuña Jr. hit his 40th home run on Sept. 22.
Ohtani Reflects on the Moment
"One of my top memorable moments," Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. "I hope that I can do more and make more memorable moments."
What Ohtani has done in his first season with the Dodgers has been nothing short of incredible. He has been everything that Los Angeles had hoped for when they signed him to a record 10-year, $700 million contract in the offseason.
Ohtani's Quest for the 50-50 Club
Ohtani was just looking to help the team win but ended up writing a different story. Now, with a little over a month still to go in the baseball season, he can look ahead as he tries to become the first player ever to reach the 50/50 club.
"I think the most important thing is to be able to contribute to winning the game," Ohtani said. "And obviously, the closer I get to 50-50, the more I'm contributing to the team winning. So if that's how it is, then I'm happy with that."
Not only did he reach the milestone, but his home run also helped L.A. keep its slim lead in the National League West division. Ohtani's quest to reach more milestones continues as he looks to help the Dodgers go after another World Series trophy.
The 40-40 Club: A Look at the History
A 40-40 season has long been one of baseball’s most exclusive statistical feats. It was 1988 when Jose Canseco of the Oakland Athletics recorded the first 40-40 season. Over the next two decades, Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Alfonso Soriano (2006) joined him.
Last year, Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves ended a 17-year drought of 40-40 seasons in emphatic style, swiping 73 bags to capture unanimous National League MVP honors. Ohtani appears to be on a similar path, entering the final stretch as the overwhelming favorite for NL MVP and on the verge of more history. He looks likely to have the first 45-45 season. If he heats up over the final month, 50-50 might not be out of the question. "That’s never been done, right? With this guy and over a month of baseball left, I think anything’s possible,” Roberts said.
Ohtani's Future and the 50-50 Club
Is Ohtani gunning for 50-50? "The most important thing is to be able to contribute to winning the game, and obviously the closer I get to 50-50, the more I’m contributing to the team winning,” he said. “If that’s how it is, I’m happy for that."
While Ohtani surpassed 40 home runs in both his 2021 and 2023 MVP seasons with the Angels, he never had stolen more than 26 bases as a big leaguer, always practicing some level of restraint on the basepaths to conserve energy and protect his body for his pitching.
But Ohtani ranks second in the majors in stolen bases behind Cincinnati Reds speedster Elly De La Cruz, who has 60, and he has been caught only four times. "I know he’s taken very good care of his legs to be able to do that and to be that dynamic player," Roberts said. "He’s doing his homework on opposing pitchers, he’s getting great jumps, and he’s a much better base stealer, very efficient. Whereas early in the season, and even years when we played against him, he was tentative, and his stolen-base percentage wasn’t great, he’s now an elite base stealer with a high success rate."
Ohtani's Contributions to the Dodgers
Several other Dodgers had a hand in Friday night’s win, starting with Hernández, who followed Edman’s bloop single and Lux’s one-out walk in the fifth with a tying three-run homer to left-center, his eighth of the season.
Right-hander Bobby Miller, who missed two months because of an inflamed shoulder and was demoted to triple A in July, delivered his best start since his season debut in late March, giving up three runs and seven hits — two of them home runs — in six innings, striking out nine and walking one. Miller maintained his fastball velocity throughout, averaging 97.8 mph with his four-seamer, and was able to throw his curveball and changeup for strikes. He threw 68 of 96 pitches for strikes, induced 18 swinging strikes and closed his outing by striking out the side — all with curveballs — in the sixth.
Reliever Ryan Brasier retired the side in order in the seventh, Evan Phillips pitched around Lowe’s one-out double in a scoreless eighth, and Michael Kopech struck out two of three in a scoreless ninth, Josh Lowe with a 100-mph fastball and Siri with a 101-mph fastball. Kopech increased his scoreless streak to 10⅓ innings in 10 games since the Dodgers acquired the right-hander from the Chicago White Sox on July 29, and he’s given up only one hit to 33 batters, with 15 strikeouts and one walk.
But in the end, it was Sho who stole the show. "I think that he wants to be the greatest player to ever play this game," Roberts said of Ohtani, "and when you start doing things like this, you’re certainly staking your claim."
