Shohei Ohtani's superhuman skills never cease to amaze and the Los Angeles Dodgers star's entry into the 40-home run, 40-stolen base club last week was yet another jaw-dropping moment in his stellar career. Ohtani swiped his 40th bag of the season in last Friday's win over the Tampa Bay Rays and then blasted his 40th homer — a walk-off grand slam — to win the game.
There's truly no one like him in the game today. He is the sixth player ever to reach the 40/40 milestone and the fastest to do so, needing only 126 games. Alfonso Soriano is the next closest with 147 games for the Washington Nationals in 2006.
And that's not all Ohtani can do.
Despite the remarkable achievement, Los Angeles has only gotten half the player it paid $700 million for. Ohtani hasn't pitched this season due to elbow surgery last September, but he threw his first 10 pitches off a mound Saturday. The Dodgers have said that Ohtani won't pitch this season, but it's a step in the right direction for the two-way star.
Ohtani's greatness on the offensive side of the ball has made it easy to forget that he's the eventual ace of their pitching staff once he returns. Since pitching full-time in 2021, Ohtani is 34-16. He's never had an ERA higher than 3.18 and he's struck out at least 150 batters each of the three seasons.
Getting a pitcher like him back in the rotation instantly makes the Dodgers the favorite for best offseason "acquisition." Add in the fact that Walker Buehler is still trying to regain his All-Star form, and LA could feature a vastly improved rotation in 2025.
So far, Ohtani's double duty hasn't slowed his production at the plate. In those three seasons he pitched full time, he hit .277 with an average of 41 home runs and 97 RBI. He's stealing bases at his highest clip yet in 2024, shattering his previous season-best of 26 with a month left to play. It begs the question: can he continue this work rate while adding in a starting pitching role?
The initial reaction is to think his production would have to slip, but this is a superhuman we're watching. For now, his feats know no limits.
