Shohei Ohtani turned in possibly the greatest single game performance at the plate of his already prolific Major League career Thursday night against the Miami Marlins.
Amidst his team’s 20-4 beatdown of the lowly Marlins, Ohtani went 6 for 6 at the plate, with 4 runs scored, 3 Home Runs, 10 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases. That offensive outburst made him the first player in MLB history to steal 50 bases and hit 50 home runs in the same season.
It also very likely secured the 3rd MVP of his storied career, and 1st such accolade in the National League.
“To be honest, I’m the one probably most surprised,” Ohtani said through an interpreter after the game. “I have no idea where this came from, but I’m glad that I performed well today.”
But becoming the founding member of the “50/50 club” wasn’t the only bit of history the 30 year old two-way star made Thursday night. He also became the first Major League player to hit 3 HRs, and steal two bases in the same game. Then he set the Dodgers franchise record with 10 RBIs in a single game, and the MLB record for most RBIs out of the leadoff spot in a single game.
His 51 long balls are now the most in Dodgers franchise history as well.
However, the most important milestone for Ohtani and his teammates is that with the victory, Los Angeles has now clinched a playoff berth, meaning that after 866 games, “Shotime” is finally headed to the postseason.
“That has to be the greatest baseball game of all time,” Dodgers second basemanĀ Gavin Lux told reporters after the contest. “It has to be. There’s no way. It’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen anybody do that even in little leagues, so it’s crazy that he’s doing that at the highest level.”
The only blemish, if one could call it that, on the evening was that the fan who caught his historic 50th home run, opted to leave the ball park with it in their possession despite the Dodgers efforts to make an exchange for the coveted piece of memorabilia.
Undoubtedly collectors will eventually see it pop up on the secondary market, with the souvenir expected to fetch a handsome sum at auction.
Los Angeles is next in action against the Colorado Rockies in a 10:10pm ET showdown in LA Friday.
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under theĀ Creative CommonsĀ Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 GenericĀ license.