Takeaways and Fallout of Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani's Historic 50/50 Season

It should be a day ending in a Y, as a result of Shohei Ohtani has accomplished one thing that had by no means been accomplished earlier than in Main League Baseball.

50 house runs and 50 stolen bases? Yup, he did that.

Ohtani reaching the 50-50 threshold has felt inevitable since he grew to become the fastest participant (and solely the sixth ever) to hitch the 40-40 Membership on August 23. What lastly acquired the Los Angeles Dodgers star there was this homer in opposition to the Miami Marlins on Thursday:

Go away it to Ohtani to not solely attain 50-50, however to take action as a part of the sport of his life. He additionally had two different homers amongst his six hits, with 10 runs batted in and two stolen bases.

For a man with solely six years of expertise, Ohtani had an outsized place in MLB historical past even earlier than he snapped the league’s 147-year streak with out a 50-50 participant. That is what two MVPs, creds because the greatest two-way player ever and a $700 million contract will do for you.

However what does him reaching 50-50 imply, precisely?

Does Ohtani Have the NL MVP Locked Up?

New York Mets followers gesturing in Francisco Lindor’s path have a case. He’s main Ohtani in fWAR, and each his offense (31 HR, 27 SB) and protection (17 OAA) have been essential for a stunning Mets squad.

But at -2500, the DraftKings odds overwhelmingly favor Ohtani for the Nationwide League MVP. It is finally onerous to argue in opposition to a 50-50 participant, least of all one who additionally leads the NL in runs, runs batted in, whole bases and OPS.

Plus, remember how Ohtani carried the Dodgers once they wanted it essentially the most. Whereas fellow MVP Mookie Betts was out of motion with a fractured hand between June 17 and August 11, Ohtani posted a 1.042 OPS with 16 homers and 17 steals in 42 video games.

Particularly now that the San Diego Padres are solely 3.5 video games off the tempo, the Dodgers will not be about to win the NL West for the eleventh time in 12 seasons with out Ohtani.

How Does 50-50 Price as an Accomplishment?

The truth that Ohtani is the primary 50-50 participant ever would appear to make the reply self-explanatory, however is that this really one of the best power-speed season in MLB historical past?

There is a Invoice James-devised metric meant to encapsulate a participant’s prowess as a house run hitter and base stealer, and it rates Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 41-homer, 73-steal season from 2023 as one of the best power-speed efficiency ever.

However there are different methods to take a look at this, beginning with simply how uncommon it’s for a participant to report 50 homers and 50 steals at any level in his profession.

Before 2024, only 31 players hit 50 house runs in a season. Of these, solely two have been among the many 218 players with a 50-steal season: Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson.

And bear in mind, Ohtani’s 50 house runs solely signify a portion of his energy output. He additionally has 34 doubles and 7 triples, making him the first participant in historical past with at the least 90 extra-base hits and 50 stolen bases in a season.

Greatest power-speed season ever? Greatest power-speed season ever.

May Anybody Else Get to 50-50 within the Future?

Since MLB is in a golden age of 30-30 seasons, there is no hurt in questioning if anybody may comply with Ohtani’s lead and leap to 50-50.

Do not be stunned if it takes one other 147 years, although.

Bobby Witt Jr. is the one participant to go 30-30 within the final two seasons. However the 30-homer vary could also be his ceiling if for no different motive than Kauffman Stadium is a lousy place to hit homers.

Julio Rodríguez ought to have had room to develop after reaching 32 homers and 37 steals final 12 months, however he is regressed to 16 and 22 this 12 months. This might be a mere blip, however he is one other man with a dimensions drawback at T-Cellular Park.

The alternative is true of Elly De La Cruz, who performs his house video games at notoriously slugger-friendly Nice American Ball Park. However whereas he does have 64 stolen bases this 12 months, he may double up on his present house run whole (48) and nonetheless be wanting 50.

The higher long-hold wager within the NL Central is perhaps Jackson Chourio, who simply grew to become the youngest player ever to go 20-20. However attending to 50-50 would require including way more oomph to his bat, which solely produces exit velocities within the 64th percentile.

Acuña may probably give it a shot, however provided that restoration from his second left ACL tear goes in addition to the primary. And whereas we’re speaking percentiles, even his first torn ACL coincided along with his dash pace going from the 97th to the 67th percentile.

Which brings us again to Ohtani as one of the best wager to go 50-50 once more, however that will rely upon what his future holds.

If Ohtani’s season is nothing else—and it’s many issues, to make sure—it’s proof of idea for what he is able to when he does not have to fret about pitching.

Together with his pitching duties successfully suspended till 2025 as he recovers from a second major elbow operation, the opportunity of the 30-year-old Ohtani pushing the offensive envelope in 2024 at all times did appear sturdy.

That is, in spite of everything, a man who averaged a 40-20 season between 2021 and 2023 whilst he break up his time between the plate and the mound.

Though Ohtani is “not sure” he’ll return to pitching in October, all signs point to him being a two-way participant once more in 2025. But there’s additionally been reporting, together with by Bob Nightengale of USA At present, that he may surrender pitching if the Dodgers requested.

If it hasn’t already, that dialogue frankly must occur within the membership’s entrance workplace.

There may be ample reward in returning Ohtani to two-way duties, however his elbow will at all times be in danger. The necessity to protect his legs would seemingly imply fewer stolen bases. In contrast, retaining him as a full-time hitter (be it as a chosen hitter or an outfielder) is just about all reward and no danger.

Within the meantime, what’s for certain is that Ohtani does not want to attend till 2025 so as to add one other extraordinary feat to his legacy.

When the Dodgers take the sector within the playoffs, it will be nothing new for them however a primary for Ohtani, who by no means sniffed the postseason with the Los Angeles Angels. It will be his likelihood to show his history-making act works simply as effectively in October as in each different month.

From how he is dealt with huge moments he is encountered in the past, do not put it previous him to make like Carlos Beltrán or Randy Arozarena and go off for an all-time October onslaught.

The place Does the GOAT Debate Stand Now?

The issue with arguing for Ohtani because the Biggest of All Time is that the final two phrases of that phrase matter simply as a lot as the primary.

Longevity ought to rely, in different phrases, particularly if anybody dares stack Ohtani as much as the likes of Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. Every has over 150 profession rWAR. Even between his hitting and pitching, Ohtani is simply at 41.8.

Because the time period “best” has some malleability inherent in it, I am personally inclined to lean towards Ruth. It isn’t even in regards to the numbers a lot as about how he mainly reinvented baseball in his picture, with the house run as its beating coronary heart. Over a century later, not a complete lot has modified.

What can nonetheless be mentioned unequivocally about Ohtani is that this: He is the Most Gifted Participant of All Time.

Perhaps it does not roll off the tongue, however it’s true. He is the one participant who’s ever been 40 % higher than each the average hitter and the average starting pitcher. And even earlier than he based the 50-50 Membership, he was the only player ever to go 40-20 thrice inside his first seven MLB seasons.

It might be thrilling if all this led to a Ruth-like reinvention of baseball, with the sport abruptly consisting of highly effective and speedy dynamos who moonlight as ace pitchers. However to imagine in that’s to imagine that Ohtani is a normal that may be lived as much as.

That isn’t what he’s, and no one has ever summarized why higher than his supervisor.

“He is one in every of one,” Dave Roberts said in August. “A unicorn.”