In A League of His Own: Shohei Ohtani Immortalized in the 50/50 Club

Miami, Florida – There must be something about playing in loanDepot Park that brings out the best in Shohei Ohtani. He led Japan to victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, striking out his teammate with the Los Angeles Angels, Mike Trout, to seal the championship game in a thrilling battle. Winning the WBC marked the beginning of a 2023 campaign in which Ohtani won the MVP, but the Halos would come up short and miss the postseason yet again, even with Ohtani pitching and hitting at an All-Star level.

Trout vs Ohtani lived up to the HYPE! #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/Z8aZAjpDRg

— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 22, 2023

MLB fans have been robbed of seeing arguably the best player on the planet compete in the postseason, and that says a lot about the Angels when they have Ohtani and Trout in their lineup. As the 2023 season ended, many were puzzled as to why the Angels did not trade Ohtani at the deadline when he was in the final year of his contract.

It was no secret that he would test the free agency market, and teams were ready to unload the Brinks trucks to see Ohtani in their uniform. Instead of a change of scenery, Ohtani decided to stay in L.A. and rock Dodger blue, signing a whopping 10-year/ $700 million contract.

The Dodgers have the money, and they sure flaunted it. It’s not like they needed any help already having the highest payroll in baseball, but now their roster looks custom-made out of MLB The Show.

Los Angeles was still willing to pay the big bucks even though Ohtani could only DH in 2024 after undergoing elbow surgery before the season started. Ask any Dodgers fan if it was worth it, and you’ll have 100% of fans saying, “Hell, F’ing yes.”

What a difference a year makes…

Shohei Ohtani made history on the anniversary of his elbow surgery. #BlueReview pic.twitter.com/KRiLlqra1B

— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) September 20, 2024

Fast-forward to September 2024, and Ohtani striking out Trout in the WBC feels like ages ago. Looking back, that moment was a passing of the torch in terms of the best player in baseball. A title that Trout has held for a decade is now in the rightful hands of Ohtani.

For some members of the Hall of Fame, Ohtani’s 2023 MVP season can be a career year for many, but the Japanese superstar had other plans. In September, he entered Miami to play the Marlins for a three-game series in what many consider at this point of the season as “meaningless games.” However, Ohtani followed up his 2023 season with a season that could end with 55 home runs and stolen bases.

You read that correctly: a member of the 50/50 club, the only member, to be exact. Going into the series against Miami, Ohtani had 47 home runs and 48 stolen bases under his belt, which made these next three games the exact opposite of meaningless, even though the Dodgers were facing a Marlins team that had not reached 60 wins.

Considering the historical circumstances, loanDepot Park was more lively than usual as fans hoped that Ohtani would crack the 50/50 mark before leaving Miami.

Mark it down!!! 5️⃣0️⃣ stolen bases for Shohei Ohtani. With 10 games left in the season, he is two homers away from a 50/50 campaign. Great shot by Luis Pabon photographer with @LemonCityLive #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/0oxJnWfFcA

— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) September 19, 2024

Ohtani wasted no time in his pursuit of history, belting a home run in game one of the series. Miami prevented Ohtani from rounding the bases in game two, but he did swipe his 49th base of the season. 

With only one game left against Miami, Ohtani was two home runs and one stolen base from etching his name into baseball lore. It’s challenging to hit two home runs in a game against any team at the big league level, but Ohtani would go on to have the game of his career, ironically enough, during a season where he is the clear-cut MVP.

In a 20-4 blowout against Miami, Ohtani finally accomplished what no MLB player has done in a season and crossed that milestone in a video game-like performance, going 6-for-6 with 3 HRs, 10 RBIs, and two steals. The only thing missing was a triple to complete the cycle in his legendary performance. Ohtani would have accomplished that feat if he did not get thrown out stretching a double into a triple in the third inning.

Every time he stepped up to the plate, fans across the ballpark took out their phones, ready to capture his 50th home run. Finally, in the sixth inning, Ohtani gave the fans something to record when he homered to the right field upper deck.

Putting on a Sho with homer No. 49! pic.twitter.com/TpiOhimPQM

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 19, 2024

An inning later, the wait was finally over. Marlins pitcher Mike Baumann will forever be on the wrong end of history and most likely an answer to a baseball trivia game question, as he surrendered the 50th to Ohtani.

Shohei Ohtani

One-of-a-kind achievement
One-of-a kind moment
One-of-a-kind player pic.twitter.com/xaMJ1Jivm2

— MLB (@MLB) September 19, 2024

Just for good measure, and with the game well out of reach for Miami, Ohtani looked to add to his 50 home runs. Against a position player, Vidal Brujan, he launched a mid-60s fastball to right field to cap off arguably the most magical and best single-game offensive performance in baseball history.

With the Dodgers clinching a playoff spot that night, this also marks the first time Ohtani will play after September. Fans across the country will finally see him play on the big stage, hopefully for many years after he’s helped the Dodgers clinch their now 12th postseason appearance in a row.

As the dust settles and the Dodgers head out of Miami, another losing season looms for the Marlins. But, for a brief period, they were at the center of baseball attention, just on the wrong side of it. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said it best postgame: “Good day for baseball, bad day for the Marlins.”

In a league and a class of his own. 50 SBs/ 50 HRs! Shohei Ohtani has done what no other MLB player has done in a season and crossed that milestone in grand fashion today going 6-for-6 with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs while and two steals. Just hand the man the MVP award @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/wD0gXADBXS

— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) September 20, 2024