Shohei Ohtani hits 45th HR to go with his 46 steals; he has 21 games left for 50-50 season

Shohei Ohtani is 90% of the way to a 50-homer, 50-steal season, with 13% of the season left to go.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar hit his 45th homer of the season on Friday against the Cleveland Guardians, giving him an already unprecedented 45-45 season through his 46 steals. The homer was also his 100th RBI of the season, tying a career high.

The homer, hit 413 feet to center field off Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd, ended up being L.A.’s only run in a 3-1 loss.

Shohei Ohtani is on pace for 50-50, but has already made history

Before this season, the largest number any player had posted in both homers and stolen bases was the 42 homers and 46 steals posted by Alex Rodríguez in 1998. Only four other players — Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano and Ronald Acuña Jr. — had even crossed the 40-40 threshold, the most recent being Acuña with a similarly unprecedented 40-70 season last year.

It’s hard to be surprised by Ohtani doing anything these days, but his propensity for stolen bases is a new addition to what might have already been the largest set of skills in MLB history. His previous career high in stolen bases was 26 in his MVP-winning 2021 season, but with that came 10 failed attempts, tied for most in the MLB.

This year, Ohtani has stolen 46 bases in 50 attempts, a success rate that could be partially attributed to his ability to focus on offense for the season after undergoing major surgery on his pitching elbow last year. He hasn’t been caught stealing since July 22.

Ohtani now needs five homers and four stolen bases in his next 21 games to achieve a pair of round numbers that feels almost mythical. He’s on pace to do it, for 51 homers and 53 steals to be exact, and can likely start rehearsing his MVP speech if he does.