Ohtani Becomes Fastest Man to 40 Homers, 40 Steals
Japanese baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani has become the fastest man to score 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a season.
Ohtani, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hit his 40th homer of 2024 in his team's 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on August 23.
Earlier in the game he had stolen his 40th base of the season. This was his 126th game — and the team's 129th — making Ohtani the fastest major league player in history to reach 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a season.
He broke the previous record, which was set by Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals, who did it in game 148 in 2006.
Stealing a base is when a player runs to the next base anytime other than when the ball has been hit — it requires speed and good timing.
Ohtani is only the sixth man ever to get to "40-40" and the first Dodgers player to achieve the feat.
The 30-year-old said through an interpreter: "Obviously the record is part of the process but I think the most important thing is about winning the game."
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he'll remember the moment for a long time, particularly because Ohtani broke the record with a "grand slam."
That's when a home run is hit when all bases have players on them, this maximizes the number of runs that can be scored in just one hit.
Ohtani did it in front of more than 45,500 fans in Los Angeles and added afterward: "It means a tremendous amount for me to be able to do this in front of the home crowd."
After never making the postseason in his six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is now aiming to win the World Series in his first year with the Dodgers.
