Shohei Ohtani all but locked up the National League MVP by completing a historic feat on Thursday.
He added a little icing on the cake, too.
Ohtani became the first MLB player to join the 50-50 club, swiping two bases and then crushing three homers for the Dodgers against the Marlins.
He finished a 20-4 Dodgers romp by going 6-for-6 with three homers, two steals and 10 RBIs.
“To be honest, I’m the one probably most surprised,” Ohtani told reporters through an interpreter after the game. “I have no idea where this came from, but I’m glad that it was going well today.”
The Japanese slugger stole his 50th base in the first inning and added No. 51 one frame later.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice on Thursday afternoon. Getty Images
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is congratulated by teammates after Ohtani hit a home run scoring Andy Pages during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. APSitting on 48 homers, he hit his 49th in the sixth inning before joining the elusive club in the seventh, walloping a 1-2 offering from Miami reliever Mike Baumann, sending it the 391 feet the opposite way for a two-run shot.
To put an exclamation point on the game, he crushed a three-run blast in the ninth.
“There’s nothing you really can say because there’s nothing anybody can do about it,” Mookie Betts added. “He’s just too good.”
In the process of making MLB history, he also became the first player in Dodgers franchise history to hit 50 homers in a single season.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after hitting his 50th home run of the season during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. AP
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani (17) congratulated by teammates after he hit a home run scoring Andy Pages, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Miami. APOhtani, having signed a 10-year, $700 million deal in the offseason, has lived up to the hype — and then some — of the mega contract.
Having won two American league MVP awards during his time with the Angels, Ohtani is in line to win his first in the National League.
Dodgers teammate Miguel Rodgers was nearly at a loss for words at what he saw Thursday.
“I almost cried, to be honest,” Miguel Rojas told reporters. “It was a lot of emotions because of everything that happens behind the scenes that we got to witness every single day.”
