One scandal aside, Shohei Ohtani’s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers has gone about as well as anyone could have reasonably hoped. That continued Saturday.
The Dodgers’ designated hitter stole his 29th, 30th and 31st bases of the season in a 10-0 rout of the Oakland Athletics. With his home run total already at 33 for the season, that gave Ohtani his first career 30-30 season.
Shohei Ohtani is the first @Dodgers player in the 30-30 club since Matt Kemp in 2011! pic.twitter.com/VCg6VswmAQ
MLB (@MLB) August 4, 2024
It’s also the fourth 30-30 season in Dodgers history, joining Matt Kemp in 2011 and Raul Mondesi in 1997 and 1999.
Per MLB.com’s David Adler, Ohtani is the third-fastest player to accomplish the feat in AL/NL history, and was only one game short of matching Alex Rodriguez for second place.
1. Eric Davis, 1987 Reds 90 games played
2. Alex Rodriguez, 1998 Mariners 107 games played
3. Shohei Ohtani, 2024 Dodgers 108 games played
4. Bobby Bonds, 1973 Giants 108 games played
5. Jose Canseco, 1988 A’s 110 games played
Ohtani’s 2-for-5 night at the plate were part of a big night for the Dodgers, who entered Saturday having lost five of their past six games and clinging to a four-game lead in the NL West. It was a successful debut for trade deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty, who threw six scoreless innings and stuck out seven.
Ohtani entered this season with a clear given that he was still recovering from last year’s elbow surgery and incapable of pitching until 2025. With his increased production on the basepaths, he’s making up for at least some of that last value.
His 31 stolen bases are a career high with nearly two months still left in the season. It has always been somewhat unfair that Ohtani can be so fast at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, with sprint speeds well above MLB average, but he has clearly focused on expanding that part of his game since joining the Dodgers.
From MLB.com:
“Obviously, he wasn’t going to be a pitcher this year,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He was really focusing with [vice president of player performance] Brandon McDaniel and his staff, and keeping his body in a good spot to use his legs. He was really excited about being able to run free. You obviously knew he was going to hit homers.”
As Ohtani’s season currently stands, he leads the NL in home runs and is second to only Aaron Judge for the MLB lead, is third in stolen bases and is hitting .309/.400/.627. All three of those marks lead the league as well, as do his 84 runs scored.
The more advanced stats like him as well, with Baseball Reference calculating his WAR at 5.9, the highest in the NL. Fangraphs gives him the edge as well.
It’s hard to win MVP as a designated hitter, but Ohtani has been the clear best hitter in the league this season, and the rock for a Dodgers lineup that is currently missing All-Stars Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy. The Dodgers have been absolutely injury-riddled this year, but still hold the second-best record in the NL.
All of that adds up pretty well for an NL MVP award, which would be Ohtani’s third MVP and see him join Frank Robinson as the only players to win the award in both leagues.