The way Shohei Ohtani’s 2024 season began, could anyone have imagined where he’d be come September? The Dodgers’ campaign began in South Korea while 28 other clubs strewn across Florida and metropolitan Phoenix were still in spring training. Before the club made the return trip from their opening two-game series vs. the , Ohtani found himself that — temporarily — had many wondering if he had literally bet money on himself.
Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer and Callie Lawson-Freeman , which ended with the firing of and subsequent criminal charges against Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Ultimately, Ohtani’s name was cleared, and he embarked on the . SHOHEI OHTANI BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER EVER TO HIT 50 HOMERS AND STEAL 50 BASES IN A SEASON 🤯 — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) Here’s a timeline of Ohtani’s season for the ages: Ohtani’s rewriting of the record books began with a 2-for-5 performance — and the first steal of his campaign — over the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea.
The game went off without a hitch, despite and others at the Gocheok Sky Dome just hours before first pitch. After a split with the Padres in South Korea, the Dodgers returned home to their Blue Heaven, Chavez Ravine. In Ohtani’s first Dodger Stadium plate appearance in a home uniform, he ripped a double down the right-field line but ended the play ruled out, ironically, on a baserunning error.
It didn't matter much, as he in a 7-1 romp of the . One of Ohtani’s longest homer-less streaks ended in the ninth game, when he belted his first of the season, off side-arm reliever . Shohei's first HR! 🔊 — MLB (@MLB) , though, as the fan who caught the milestone ball and her husband claimed that the team strong-armed her into surrendering the valuable memorabilia for a paltry sum.
Ohtani went deep for the fourth time of the season and tacked on two doubles on the day his former interpreter, for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars. HR No. 5 carried some historical significance, as for MLB homers hit by a Japanese-born player.
Shohei Ohtani, 176 (at the time) Hideki Matsui, 175 , 117 Kenji Johjima, 48 Tadahito Iguchi, 44 Ever the showman — and foreshadowing some dramatic performances to follow — Ohtani smacked his seventh home run of the season at ’s Rogers Centre after . Shohei Ohtani had gotten a lot of cheers from the crowd in his past trips to Toronto Not anymore apparently — Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) Blue Jays fans were still salty about losing out in the Ohtani SweepstakesTM on what was by far the . Chaos and misinformation reigned on Dec.
9, 2023, with subterfuge and conflicting reports being strewn about and thousands of fans tracking a private jet traveling from Orange County to Toronto and thought to contain Ohtani. The plane turned out to be transporting Canadian businessman and “Shark Tank” host Robert Herjavec. Ohtani hit HR No.
11, a 441-footer, to cap a three-day, four-homer tear. It marked the eighth time in Ohtani’s career that he has homered in three straight games. The was predictably popular.
Nonetheless, the sight of a sea of fans and collectible hounds rushing the ballpark hours before first pitch was jaw-dropping. "It's exciting. Shohei certainly creates a stir,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters.
“I can't imagine what it's like outside. It's good. It's great for Shohei, it's good for the Dodgers, it's going to be a hot-ticket item.
" Ohtani went 0-for-2 with a stolen base in a 7-2 loss to the . This is the Ohtani effect. Im beginning to think the man is severely underpaid.
I’ve never seen Dodger Stadium like this! — Allen Sales (@AllenSales) That $700 million wasn’t just for Ohtani’s bat, and so it was a welcomed development for the Dodgers to have after recovering from offseason elbow surgery. The Dodgers swept the at what was perhaps New York’s lowest point of the season, capping it off with Ohtani’s 399-foot blast in a 10-3 win. That — the longest of the season — for Ohtani, and his 2-for-5 day at the plate halted a 7-for-37 run.
One of the dominant storylines of the early part of the season was the debut of fireballing rookie . Making just his fifth MLB start, Skenes entered a game against the Dodgers 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts.
His 31st K was a thing of beauty. Paul Skenes Annihilating Shohei Ohtani. 😳 — Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) That’s what three 100-plus mph whiffs look like.
But in his next at-bat, cracking HR No. 14 of the season — and beginning a 12-homer month that set him on the path to 50-50. Ohtani reached the 20-HR mark over the Rockies in Denver.
Facing of his MLB career, Ohtani went 2-for-2 with a homer and two walks against the Angels at Dodger Stadium. Asked after the game if it felt strange facing the other club with in its moniker, Ohtani said: “We played at home today, so not necessarily. I think it’s going to feel a bit different when we play in [Angel] Stadium.
" at DH for the All-Star Game after winning a run-off with the Phillies’ . It was Ohtani’s fourth selection to the Midsummer Classic, and it made him the first player elected to start at DH in four straight All-Star Games. Ohtani reached a career milestone by swatting his 200th MLB homer — No.
28 of the season — in . In the top of the third inning of the All-Star Game, Tanner Houck left an 89 mph splitter over the middle of the plate — and instantly regretted it. into the right-field stands to put the NL up 3-0.
The AL ultimately rallied for a 5-3 win in Arlington, Texas. Ohtani’s was an absolute monster, and he got to 30 before anyone else in the National League. Shohei Ohtani is the first in the NL to reach 30 home runs! His fourth straight season with 30+ homers! — MLB (@MLB) Yup, it nearly cleared the right-field pavilion.
At 473 feet, it was the second-longest home run at Dodger Stadium in the Statcast era, following a 475-foot moon shot in 2015. Ohtani swiped his 29th, 30th and 31st bags of the season against the hapless A’s, . It took him 108 games, behind only Eric Davis’ 1987 campaign for the Reds (90 games) and ’s 1998 season for the (107 games).
More flair for the dramatic. On a cool midsummer Friday, Ohtani launched a walk-off grand slam for his 40th home run of the season, : GRAND SLAM TO JOIN THE 40-40 CLUB THERE IS ONLY ONE SHOHEI OHTANI. — MLB (@MLB) Let’s just admire the reverse 4K angle as well: This angle of the Ohtani grand slam is EVERYTHING 🎥 (via ) — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) "One of my top memorable moments, and I hope that I can do more [to make] memorable moments," , via an interpreter, in the clubhouse after a wild on-field celebration.
Mere hours after that wild scene, for the first time since his Sept. 19, 2023, UCL surgery. Ohtani capped an eventful weekend by escaping injury by a pitch.
Ohtani’s second bobblehead night of the season (this one featuring his dog, Dekopin, or Decoy in English) was even more of a draw, with lines of fans outside the stadium gates spilling onto neighboring Sunset Boulevard seven hours ahead of first pitch. Fans in LA started getting in line for Shohei Ohtani's bobblehead giveaway over 7 hours before the game's scheduled start time 🤯 — MLB (@MLB) Once inside, even the most disappointed of fans who missed out on the giveaway were treated to an adorable ceremonial first pitch, with : Decoy and Shohei with the cutest first pitch you've ever seen. 😭 — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) With all eyes already on him, Ohtani did what Ohtani does: He hit homer No.
42 on the season and stole his 42nd base in a 6-4 win over the Orioles. Ohtani etched his name in the record books (again) by becoming the first player when he notched one of each in a 10-9 win over . The previous highest combo season belonged to Alex Rodriguez, who went 42-42 in 1998.
This was what the National League feared from the Dodgers’ top-heavy batting order. , when Ohtani, and hit back-to-back-to-back homers off starter . The show of force happened on four pitches, and each homer traveled at least 400 feet.
It was Ohtani’s 45th homer. The Dodgers won 8-6. On the basepaths, .
He swiped three bags off the Diamondbacks’ in an 11-6 Dodgers victory. It was the second time this season that Ohtani pulled off a stealing trifecta. In his first regular-season return to Angel Stadium, from the fans of his former team.
Kudos to the Angels for showing their sense of humor with his billboard bio blurb: Great way to end a day in Orange County: v. in Anaheim, or as the Angels would say, Shohei’s former place of employment. “Used to work here.
” — Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) Ohtani hit an RBI triple and scored twice in the Dodgers’ 6-2 victory. to the 50/50 milestone by hitting his 45th homer in a 3-1 defeat against . Home run No.
46 came on a 103-degree day in L.A. and stayed within the foul pole.
Per the broadcast, Ohtani’s homer had an exit velocity of 116 mph. With it, he tied his single-season career high in homers, set in his 2021 MVP season. A homer and a stolen base brought .
It was the 12th time this season that Ohtani stole a base and homered in the same game, which is one short of Rickey Henderson’s single-season record. As if Ohtani hadn't already contributed enough to the Dodgers’ World Series aspirations, manager Dave Roberts said he is “ ” on letting the superstar pitch in the playoffs. In the series finale vs.
the Marlins, Ohtani was a juggernaut. He swiped two bases to eclipse the 50-stolen base mark and homered for No. 49 and No.
50. His first blast hit the upper deck in and traveled 450 feet. ONE HOMER AWAY FROM 50/50 🤯 OHTANI CHASING HISTORY (via ) — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) His second blast : 50-50.
Or, in his case, 50-51. SHOHEI OHTANI'S SECOND HR OF THE NIGHT IS NO. 50 🐐 (via ) — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) His stat line through seven innings vs.
Miami: 5-for-5, 2 HR, 2 SB, 2 doubles, 3 runs and 7 RBI. Shohei Ohtani stands alone in baseball history..
