MIAMI — The greatest offensive performance in baseball history brought Shohei Ohtani’s teammates to tears and elicited awe and childlike giggles from the other supremely talented stars of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who still couldn’t comprehend what they had just witnessed.
Baseball’s most tantalizing talent is 50-50, and he did it in absurd fashion. A unicorn player who was already in his own company became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season. He did it Thursday with a game unlike any you’ve ever seen.
“This game has been around for a long time and he’s done something nobody’s ever done before – he’s one of a kind,” said manager Dave Roberts. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it before.”
No player in major league history had hit three home runs and stolen two bases in a game before Ohtani did so on Thursday, creating a 51-51 club with nine games to go. As if that wasn’t enough, Ohtani finished a 20-4 win over the Miami Marlins with 6 for 6 and 10 RBIs. Ohtani’s performance was so incredible that if he hadn’t used a quick relay to throw Ohtani out at third base with a two-run double, he would have ended his second career cycle as well.
Nobody has experienced a day like this. Nobody has experienced a season like this. Nobody could believe it. Except maybe Ohtani.
He did it. 50:50. pic.twitter.com/JVNdMI5E3R
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) 19 September 2024
“If I’m honest,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, “it was something I wanted to get over with as quickly as possible.”
He got within 50-50 in the first inning when he hit a double off the wall and double-stealed his 50th base of the season. Ohtani picked up another stolen base before hammering a breaking ball from Edward Cabrera into the upper deck for his 49th home run, tying Shawn Green’s single-season franchise record set in 2001. He already had four hits when he faced Marlins relief pitcher Mike Baumann in the seventh inning.
With first base empty and a historic event looming, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker had Baumann pitch for Ohtani.
Why don’t you take him for a walk?
“I think it’s a bad move as far as baseball, karma and the baseball gods are concerned,” Schumaker told reporters. “You go after him.”
With a powerful two-strike hit on a hanging breaking ball, Ohtani made history by hitting his 50th home run into the Recess Sports Lounge in left field at loanDepot Park. A crowd flocked to claim a piece of history – a group of Major League Baseball authenticators had swapped out the usual balls for balls specifically marked for Ohtani’s batting appearance – while Ohtani celebrated his achievement with a loud roar in the dugout.
This, Ohtani said, was a relief.
Ohtani, already elevated to baseball immortality, hit a home run in the ninth inning against outfielder Vidal Brujan on his second visit to the upper stands that afternoon.
“I think he just felt good, sexy and just knew, ‘Today I’m going to do this,'” Mookie Betts said. “I mean, he could have hit four home runs today. I’m lost for words.”
Ohtani’s fourth home run in three games in Miami capped off his historic chase with an electrifying finish. Closing out history on a high note is old news by now. The man who secured the fastest 40-40 season ever with a walk-off grand slam somehow managed to up the ante to 50-50.
“I can’t say for sure, and it’s scary,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers celebrated on Thursday. They sipped their drinks but didn’t spill them as they celebrated their 12th straight postseason appearance. They clinked glasses of Veuve Clicquot. A muted cheer reflected the numbing consistency of this franchise over the past decade. Roberts refereed his first game for the Dodgers in 2016 and hasn’t missed a postseason in any year since. Entire careers have come and gone during this playoff series: In October, the Dodgers will be there.
They have come out on top this year behind baseball’s biggest star. No active player has played more major league games without making the postseason than Ohtani. For six years, the otherworldly talent languished in Anaheim, California, home to baseball’s longest playoff drought (since 2014).
“Obviously I changed teams this year and my goal was always to make the playoffs,” Ohtani said.
That was largely the reason behind his decision to join baseball’s most consistent regular-season winner. When Ohtani got the chance to underscore his new reality, he delivered a breakthrough performance in a crucial game.
The Dodgers wore T-shirts honoring Ohtani’s 50-50 performance. The shirts featured images of Ohtani at the batting plate, safely sliding to steal a base. Ohtani spoke briefly to thank his teammates, who responded with sustained awe.
“We see the best player of all time and he doesn’t even throw this year,” Gavin Lux said.
“Given the things Shohei is doing, of course you have to take a moment and congratulate him,” said Teoscar Hernández.
“What we’re seeing is kind of what we expected,” Betts said. “It’s crazy that he’s fulfilling those expectations. But that’s also what leaves you speechless.”
“We all know we’ve witnessed history,” Miguel Rojas said. “To be honest, I almost cried because there were so many emotions, because of everything that happens behind the scenes and what we get to witness every day. So it’s a pretty cool moment. We all know what he’s capable of. But for him to achieve this goal is pretty amazing.”
(Photo by Shohei Ohtani: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
