Shohei Ohtani ‘wants to be the greatest player to ever play this game’: Is 50/50 next?

Major League Baseball

Updated Aug. 24, 2024 12:26 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES — This is what the Dodgers envisioned when they committed $700 million to a unicorn.

On Sept. 19, 2023, Shohei Ohtani underwent major elbow surgery. Eleven months later, the two-time MVP stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a tie game Friday night at Dodger Stadium, one home run away from making history for his new team.

He had already stolen his 40th base earlier in the night. His next blast would make him the first Dodgers player ever to join the 40/40 club. No one in MLB history had accomplished the feat in fewer than 147 games. Only five big leaguers had done it at all.

This was Ohtani’s 126th game of the season and team game No. 129 for the Dodgers.

“You could just sense that he felt that he was the right guy in the spot,” manager Dave Roberts said.

He was not alone.

From the clubhouse, Bobby Miller was finishing his post-start arm care routine. The Dodgers pitcher, not long after completing one of his best starts of the season, sensed what was coming with the chance for a historic walk-off grand slam beckoning Ohtani.

“Like, ‘How cool would this be?'” Miller said before Ohtani sent the first pitch he saw from Colin Poche soaring deep toward right-center field.

Initially, Roberts wasn’t sure if Rays center fielder Jose Siri might track it down. Ohtani himself had a hard time deciphering if he got enough of the slider from Poche, which sailed 105.1 mph off his bat and 389 feet into the night sky at Chavez Ravine. But the ball reached the seats, tipping off a fan’s glove before trickling back onto the field as pandemonium ensued from the 45,556 fans in attendance.

“I always say you can’t script a game,” Roberts said, “but man, if there was a script, that couldn’t have been written any better.”

Shohei Ohtani hits walk-off grand slam to join 40/40 club

For a brief moment, Ohtani wasn’t sure if the ball might have hit the fence or was caught. He watched the umpire raise his hand, signaling home run, then pointed one finger toward the sky after reaching first base. His countenance did not offer any sense of his elation until he neared third base, clapped his hands, flipped his helmet toward the Dodgers dugout and jumped into the arms of his teammates at home plate.

Then came the Gatorade bath from Teoscar Hernández and a couple more bottles of sports drink on his head courtesy of Miguel Rojas.

Afterward, while Ohtani tried to keep the focus on his primary objective this year — reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career and winning a World Series — it was clear to those around him what this accomplishment meant to the National League MVP front-runner.

“He’s human,” Roberts said. “I think that he wants to be the greatest player to ever play this game. And when you start doing things like that, then you’re certainly staking your claim.”

The achievement had been in the works since the spring.

Ohtani was aware of the 40/40 club before the year began. Unable to impact games as a pitcher this year, he sought another way to contribute. Before the season began, he worked tirelessly with first base coach Clayton McCullough and head strength coach Travis Smith to put himself in position to be as aggressive on the basepaths as possible.

He had never stolen more than 26 bases in a season.

This year, he is on pace for nearly double that. He has only been caught stealing four times.

“I know that he’s taken very good care of his legs to be able to do that and to be that dynamic player,” Roberts said. “He’s doing his homework on opposing pitchers, really working hard on that, and he’s getting great jumps. And I think even now you start to see, he’s a much better base stealer, he’s very efficient. Whereas early on in the season, and even years when we played against him, he was tentative, his stolen base percentage wasn’t great, but now he’s an elite base dealer with a high success rate.”

Beyond his speed, Ohtani’s 40 home runs, .614 slugging percentage and .992 OPS all lead the NL. He has the chance to become the first primary designated hitter to win an MVP.

Now, his feats also have the power to change his team’s fate.

Ohtani was the Rookie of the Year in 2018. He was the MVP in 2021. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2022 and became the only player in MLB history with at least 10 wins and 30 homers in the same season. He was the MVP again in 2023. At no point in that stretch — even during the shortened 2020 season — were the Angels still in contention by the time the calendar reached late August.

His only opportunity to showcase his skills on a championship stage came at last year’s World Baseball Classic. He did not disappoint. The WBC MVP posted a 1.345 OPS as a hitter and a 1.86 ERA as a pitcher, striking out his teammate Mike Trout to clinch the title for Team Japan.

While he won’t be pitching in the playoffs this year, the 30-year-old sensation should finally get a chance to make his mark on MLB’s biggest stage.

The Dodgers dreamed of the possibilities this year when all of Ohtani’s focus and energy could be placed into hitting. Still, even his manager couldn’t have imagined that the two-time MVP would be this good, this quickly, in his first year coming off elbow surgery.

“We played against him, and he was very good, but now, that’s the bet,” Roberts said. “It’s like, you’re playing for a championship-caliber team, you’re playing for meaning every game in August, September. Going forward is meaningful. That’s something that he signed up for. And so, you can expect there to be better performances, and that’s what’s happening.”

To achieve this individual accomplishment, and have it mean something for a Dodgers team trying to maintain its superiority in a tight division race, made Friday night particularly special for Ohtani.

“One of my top memorable moments,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton, “and I hope that I can do more and make more memorable moments.”

There is plenty of time for that, even before October.

A year ago, the Braves‘ Ronald Acuña Jr. crossed the 40/40 mark en route to becoming the first player ever with 40 home runs and 70 steals. While that mark is out of reach for Ohtani, the Dodgers slugger has a chance to make his own mark alone in the record books this season.

No player has ever recorded a 45/45 season before. Ohtani, meanwhile, is on pace for 50 homers and 50 steals.

“Obviously, the closer I get to 50/50, the more I’m contributing to the team win,” Ohtani said. “If that’s how it is, I’m happy for that.”

Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.

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