An elbow injury has stopped Shohei Ohtani from pitching and being a two-way player in his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, his speed on the bases is making him a significant offensive threat.
In a 10-0 win against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night, Ohtani stole three bases, bringing his season total to 31 steals along with 33 home runs.
Manager Dave Roberts said, “Shohei, as far as the foot speed and offensively, he’s one of one.”
This is only the fourth time in Dodgers history that a player has reached the 30-30 club, with Matt Kemp achieving it in 2011 and Raul Mondesi in 1997 and 1999.
Roberts mentioned, “That started in spring training when obviously he wasn’t going to be a pitcher this year,” referring to Ohtani’s focus on stealing more bases.
This is the first time Ohtani has reached the 30-30 mark in his career. His previous high in steals was 26 in 2021, along with 46 home runs for the Angels.
Ohtani hit the milestone by stealing second base in the ninth inning and then added another steal on a double steal later in the inning.
He is tied for the fourth fastest player to achieve this mark in a season, with Jose Canseco also reaching it in the 111th game of the season for Oakland in 1988. Bobby Bonds did it in the 110th game in 1973, Alex Rodriguez in the 107th game in 1998, and Eric Davis in the 105th game in 1987.
Now he has a chance to become the sixth player to join the rarer group of players with 40 steals and 40 home runs in a season.
Roberts said, “He was really focusing on keeping his body in a good spot and use his legs, which he was really excited to be able to run free. You obviously knew he was going to hit homers. I do think 40-40 was something that was on his radar from spring training.”
