Shohei Otani has made history again, this time in grand fashion.
The Dodgers superstar hit his 40th home run against the Rays on Friday night, becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach the milestone. He is the first 40/40 player in Dodgers history and only the sixth MLB player to do so.
Ohtani achieved 40/40 in 129 games, breaking the previous record of 147 games set by Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals in 2006.
Shohei Ohtani joins 40/40 club with walk-off grand slam
The two-time AL MVP and current NL MVP front-runner had 39 home runs and 39 stolen bases on the season Friday. He stole first base in the fourth and was shut out in the subsequent at-bat. But with the score tied, the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Ohtani sent Colin Poche’s first pitch over the fence in right-center to give the Dodgers a 7-3 win.
With more than a month left in the season, Ohtani could soon become the first player in MLB history to hit 45 home runs and steal 45 bases in a season.
Compare this past 40/40 season to Ohtani’s historic season.
1988: Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics: .307/.391/.569/.959; 42 HR, 40 at-bats
1988 was a monumental year for Canseco. He showed a rare combination of power and speed in baseball and had the first 40/40 season in MLB history. He also hit over .300 for the only time in his career and led the AL in slugging percentage. Canseco won the American League MVP award and helped the Athletics advance to the World Series, which they lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1996: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants: .308/.461/.615/1.076; 42 HRs, 40 at-bats
Barry Bonds has a lot of records, but in the first half of his career, he had an elite power-speed combination that younger fans didn’t know about, as he broke home run records. In 1996, Bonds finished with 40 stolen bases, the third time in his career that he had done so, and he also hit 42 home runs. But despite his second season with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, he didn’t finish in the top three in MVP voting. After winning MVPs in 1990, 1992, and 1993, the bar was set a little higher for this dynamic outfielder.
Despite his impressive performance, the Giants finished last in the National League West and failed to make the playoffs, which may be why he didn’t receive more MVP support.
1998: Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners: .310/.360/.560/.919; 42 HR, 46 at-bats
Rodriguez, the all-time stolen base leader in the 40/40 season, hit 42 big flies and stole 46 bases, eclipsing 40 for the first and only time in his career. Those numbers earned A-Rod his second career MVP vote, but he finished ninth in the voting despite leading the AL in hits (213) and ranking in the top five in RBI (124), total bases (384), runs (123) and extra-base hits (82) during the season.
But despite his greatness, Rodriguez and the Mariners finished below . 500 and missed the playoffs, a clear reason for the lack of MVP voting despite a historic season.
2006: Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals: .277/.351/.560/.911; 46 home runs, 41 RBI
The first player to hit 45 or more home runs while stealing 40 or more bases in a season, Soriano is the most recent player to achieve a 40/40 campaign. Even more impressively, it was his only season in Washington, and his 46 home runs remain a single-season franchise record to this day. It was also the only time in his career that Soriano hit more than 40 home runs, and the last time he hit more than 35 big flies. Additionally, it was the last time he stole 40 bases in his career.
But all those numbers and his franchise record weren’t enough to earn him MVP support. Like the teams that had two 40/40 seasons before Soriano, the Nationals missed the playoffs and finished last in the NL East.
2023: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves: .337/.416/.596/1.012; 42 HR, 73 at-bats
It was clear early last season that Acuña would eclipse 40 steals. The big question was how many home runs he would hit. Well, he stole his 40th base in the final week of the 2023 regular season, and soon after that, he stole his 70th base. That made him a founding member of the 40-70 club. The previous record for stolen bases among members of the 40/40 club was 46, set by Rodriguez in 1998. Acuña made history earlier this year by becoming the first player to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases. He was also the first National League player to join the 40/40 club in the same season that his team made the playoffs.
Acuña won the MVP award through it all and had one of the most impressive individual seasons of all time.
2024: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: .292/.378/.614/.992; 40 HR, 40 SB (33 games remaining)
Ohtani’s majestic shot Friday night may have secured him his third MVP award. It also brought him one step closer to a 50-50 season that was previously unthinkable.
relevant: Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge MVP confirmed? American League’s best bet? Joey Votto, Hall of Fame?
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