Shohei Ohtani’s Game for the Ages

Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani entered last night’s game in Miami with 49 stolen bases and 48 home runs for the season. Only five other players in MLB history have ever hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a season. No player had ever achieved a 50-50 season.

Ohtani went 6-for-6, hitting 3 homers, stealing 2 bases, and knocking in 10 RBIs — thus breaking 50 in both categories in the same game. Unreal. It’s the second-greatest single-game performance by a hitter in baseball history. (Everyone knows the greatest, especially Dodgers fans.)

Postscript: I want to add my sincere kudos to Marlins manager Skip Schumaker (great baseball name). Asked why he didn’t walk Ohtani intentionally, he replied, “That’s a bad move, baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball-gods-wise. You go after him and see if you can get him out.” That’s what he said to the media after the game. During the game, in the dugout, when asked if the Marlins should walk Ohtani, he put it even better: “Fuck that.”

★ Friday, 20 September 2024