If that were also done: LA Dodgers premium pitcher Ohtani Shohei leaves Miami no chance (Los Angeles, September 20, 2024)
It was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding offensive performances in the modern era of baseball since 1901: Superstar Ohtani Shohei offered a “6-for-6” performance on Thursday (local time) in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins—he stood at bat six times and had six hits—and proved once again that he is in a class of his own. Among the six hits were no fewer than three home runs, and the 30-year-old recorded ten of them in total. In between, the Japanese, who signed a ten-year contract with the Dodgers before the season for a record sum of 700 million US dollars, also stole two bases. As “Otherworldly” (MLB.com, The Athletic), that is, otherworldly, otherworldly, the trade press tried to somehow classify Ohtani’s game for eternity. While the “6-for-6” with three home runs and two steals was already unique in MLB history, Ohtani set another record in passing. He is the first baseball player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season – to be precise, his record was 51-51 after the game against the Marlins. The Dodgers also secured their place in the playoffs with a 20-4 win. Hard to believe for an exceptional player like Ohtani, but this will be the 30-year-old’s first postseason in the MLB. With his predecessor club, the Los Angeles Angels, for whom he played from 2018 to 2023, it was never enough for “October Ball.”
On Thursday, on his first visit to the batting cage at Loan Depot Park in Miami, Ohtani hammered a line drive – a hard-hit ball with a flat trajectory – to the edge of the field. The powerful hit was enough for a double at second base. He also stole third base in the first inning; it was his 50th steal. But that was just the beginning. In the second inning, Ohtani hit a single, and then stole second base from teammate Mookie Betts in the very next at bat. In the third inning, Ohtani hit another line drive into center field, but failed in his attempt to get to third base and was ejected. It was the only moment in the game when Ohtani failed. Had he made it to third base, he would have completed a cycle – a cycle a player achieves when he hits a single, double, triple, and home run in one game. In the sixth inning, Ohtani hammered a rather poor throw by substitute pitcher George Soriano for his 49th home run of the season with a powerful blow into the upper deck in right field. In the seventh inning, Marlins team manager Jared Michael “Skip” Schumaker showed sportsmanship when he did not give Ohtani a free pass with an “intentional walk” to the unoccupied first base, but let relief pitcher Mike Baumann take on Ohtani, who then gave up home run number 50 to Ohtani. After the game, Schumaker said: “I think that would have been a bad move – in terms of baseball, karma and the baseball gods.” Out of respect, they had to take on Ohtani at that moment, Schumaker continued. In the ninth inning, with the score at 14:3, only one second baseman, Vidal Bruján, was on the mound because Schumaker did not want to burn out another pitcher with the big deficit. Bruján’s silly throw beat Ohtani again into the upper deck in right field for home run number 51.
It was only at the end of August that Ohtani became the sixth player in baseball history to hit 40 home runs and 40 steals in a season. From then on, there was only one topic that was discussed up and down in baseball circles: Can Ohtani also have a 50-50 season? “If I’m honest, I wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible,” Ohtani said to MLB.com after the game against the Marlins, almost relieved. His teammate Gavin Lux was more enthusiastic: “That must have been the greatest baseball game of all time. It has to be that way.” Basketball player LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, was certain about Ohtani on X: “This guy is unreal.” In any case, the unreal continued after Thursday where he left off in Miami. Currently (as of Saturday’s games), the Japanese player has 52 home runs and 53 steals. Ohtani can still do better. There are still five games left until Sunday.
