Ohtani achieves first 50-50 season in MLB history
Shohei Ohtani became the first major league player to exceed 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season during the most spectacular game of a history-making career for the Los Angeles Dodgers star, going deep three times and swiping two bags on Thursday against the Miami Marlins. Ohtani hit his 49th homer in the sixth inning, his 50th in the seventh and his 51st in the ninth. He finished 6 for 6 with 10 RBIs, becoming the first big league player to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game. The Japanese superstar reached the second deck in right-centre on two of his three homers at LoanDepot Park. In the sixth inning, he launched a 1-1 slider from George Soriano 438 feet for his 49th. Ohtani hit his 50th homer in the seventh inning, an opposite-field, two-run shot to left against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann. Then, in the ninth, his 51st traveled 440 feet to right-centre, a three-run shot against Marlins second baseman Vidal Brujan, who came in to pitch with the game out of hand. Ohtani took care of the stolen bases earlier in the game, swiping his 50th in the first and his 51st in the second. The Japanese superstar led off the game with double against Edward Cabrera and swiped third on the front end of a double steal with Freddie Freeman, who reached on a walk. Ohtani has been successful on his last 28 stolen base attempts. He reached the 50-50 milestone in his 150th game. Ohtani was already the sixth player in major league history and the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season – needing just 126 games. Ohtani's previous career high in homers was 46 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, when he also made 23 starts on the mound and won his first of two American League MVP awards. (AP)