Shohei Ohtani already has 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases this season, but is on the verge of achieving what could be his sixth 40-40 season in MLB history.
Through August 14, Ohtani has hit 37 home runs and 35 steals in 2024 with 41 games remaining this season. He is on pace for 49 home runs and 47 steals.
The Dodgers’ record is 49 home runs, set by Shawn Green in 2001. Ohtani’s career-high is 46 home runs, which he hit with the Angels in 2021. He has already surpassed his previous career-high of 26 steals (also in 2021) when he stole his 27th base on July 28 of this year.
Ohtani has already played seven games with at least one home run and a stolen base in 2024, tying Kirk Gibson in 1988 for the most such games in a season in Dodgers history. Gibson finished the year he was named National League MVP with 25 home runs and 31 steals.
Ohtani became the first major leaguer this season to hit 20 home runs and 20 steals, doing so on July 7 in the Dodgers’ 91st game of the year. He also became the first this year to go 30-30, tying Jose Canseco (1988) as the fourth-fastest player to hit both 30 home runs and 30 steals in the Dodgers’ 111th game of the year.
MLB 40-HR, 40-SB seasons
| player | team | Year | Human Resources | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | team | Year | Human Resources | SB |
| Jose Canseco | OAK | 1988 | 42 | 40 |
| Barry Bonds | SF | 1996 | 42 | 40 |
| Alex Rodriguez | SEA | 1998 | 42 | 46 |
| Alfonso Soriano | WSN | 2006 | 46 | 41 |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | ATL | 2023 | 41 | 73 |
Source: Baseball Reference
Canseco became the first player in Major League history to have a 40-40 season this season, and has since been joined by Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodríguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023).
The fastest player of this quintet to achieve both 40 home runs and 40 steals was Soriano in 148 team games.
No Dodger has ever hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in the same season. Matt Kemp came closest in 2011, finishing with 39 home runs and 40 steals in a 161-game season. Kemp was at Dodger Stadium on August 11 to be honored as part of Alumni Weekend and had high praise for Ohtani.
“Oh, it’s a no-brainer for him,” Kemp said of Ohtani’s 40-40 odds this year. “He’s going to beat me because he has 35 home runs and it’s not even September yet.”
Since Kemp said that, Ohtani has hit two more home runs in his next three games.
Ohtani, Kemp and Raúl Mondesí (1997, 1999) are the only Dodgers with a 30-30 season.
Ohtani’s first milestone in 2024 came on April 21, when he hit his 176th career home run, breaking Hideki Matsui’s record for most major league home runs by a Japanese-born player.
Two weeks later, a lower hurdle was overcome when Ohtani surpassed his manager Dave Roberts’ eighth home run of the season and the career Home runs in Dodgers history by a Japanese-born player.
Ohtani hit his 200th career home run on July 13, and eight days later he hit his 30th home run of the season. This marked Ohtani’s 30th career home run in 100 games, the fifth-fastest record in franchise history.
Ohtani is already the player with the most stolen bases in a season among all designated hitters, surpassing Paul Molitor’s 31 steals in 1992.
The most stolen bases by a player with at least 45 home runs is 41, by Soriano in 2006.
The most home runs by a player with at least 30 steals is 49, by Larry Walker in 1997.
“I’m already immune to listening to new Shohei records because it seems like every day there’s something different,” Roberts said in July. “I’m sure there’s a lot more to come.”
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