Participant turns into first in MLB to report 50 house runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani has made Main League Baseball (MLB) historical past by turning into the primary participant within the league’s historical past to report 50 house runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
Ohtani made three house runs and lifted his tally of steals to 51 within the Dodgers’ 20-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
The win despatched the Dodgers into the playoffs, a primary for Ohtani.
“To be trustworthy, I’m the one in all probability most shocked,” the Japanese participant mentioned by a translator of his spectacular efficiency. “I do not know the place this got here from, however I’m glad I carried out nicely as we speak.”
It has been an eventful yr for Ohtani who joined the Dodgers in December on a 10-year, $700m contract after spending six seasons with the crosstown rival Angels.
He isn’t pitching this season as he recovers from reconstructive surgical procedure on his throwing elbow and has additionally endured a scandal by which his former pal and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, stole tens of millions of {dollars} from him to repay sports activities playing money owed.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts, addressing his gamers within the clubhouse as they celebrated the victory, famous the achievement.
“It is a sport that has been performed for over 200 years,” Roberts mentioned. “And that is one thing that has by no means been carried out.”
Ohtani, 30, tried to maintain the deal with the crew.
“I’m glad that the crew gained,” he mentioned, admitting that with a lot consideration centered on his 50-50 pursuit, it “was one thing I wished to recover from as shortly as potential.
“It’s one thing that I’m going to cherish for a really very long time.”
Earlier this season, Ohtani turned the MLB’s all-time chief in house runs amongst Japanese-born gamers when he surpassed the 175 of Hideki Matsui with 222 house runs over the course of his profession.
Ohtani’s success dominated Friday’s morning information reveals and social media in Japan.
Newspapers rushed out particular editions in Tokyo and elsewhere, together with in Ohtani’s hometown within the northern Iwate area.
Nicknamed “Sho-Time”, Ohtani was a high-school baseball prodigy who signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013 and spent 5 seasons with the crew earlier than shifting to the US.
“We want to congratulate him from the underside of our coronary heart,” high authorities spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi informed reporters in Tokyo.
“We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already achieved feat after feat and carved out a brand new period, will thrive additional.”