Yesterday in the Dodgers game against the Marlins, Shohei Ohtani joined a very exclusive club, a club of exactly one (himself): the 50/50 club. 50 homeruns and 50 steals. This has never been done before and it may be a long time before it's done again.
It was really an unbelievable game on many levels. Ohtani entered the game with 48 homers and 49 steals. In the game he went an unbelievable 6 for 6, knocking out three homers and two doubles for five of those hits. In addition, he stole two bases and knocked in an unbelievable 10 runs. That's right, he is actually 51/51. But unless he gets even more before the end of the season, he will probably go down in history just for 50/50. People like nice round numbers, after all.
He very nearly got a cycle too. That is when a batter gets a single, a double, a triple, and a homerun all in the same game.
Ohtani has been getting increasing praise as one of the greatest players of all time over the past two years. Founding the 50/50 club may just push him over the edge for many people from "One of the greatest" to "The greatest". Over his career he has drawn many comparisons to The great bambino, Babe Ruth. But Ruth never played like this. Ruth was a great pitcher and a great batter, but not at the same time. And even in his best batting years, Ruth didn't do quite as well as Ohtani is doing now.
The most unbelievable thing is that Ohtani is coming off a major injury and surgery. We knew he wasn't going to pitch this year due to his surgery (though he may pitch in the playoffs, due both to his desire to win and the Dodgers pitching woes this season) and we didn't really expect him to hit well either due to the recovery, but here he is, having his best season.
Major League Baseball must be all over themselves. They finally found the perfect player to represent the league. Not only is Ohtani an unbelievable player, but his image is squeaky clean. He has this perfect good boy image that makes people just love him. His dedication to the sport is unmatched. Unlike Babe Ruth who famously spent every free moment drinking, smoking, and chasing women, Ohtani seems to spend every single free moment practicing baseball or studying baseball. He is baseball's version of NFL's Peyton Manning.
Anyway, this is just a hell of an achievement. Here is a clip showing highlights from the game. And YouTube is full of dozens of other videos of people talking about it. Go watch some and enjoy the history being made.
❦
 |
David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |