Shohei Ohtani is closing in on a historic 50-50 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar stole three bases in Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving him 46 for the season. He hit his 44th home run of the year in Saturday’s 8-6 win over Arizona.
Ohtani stole his first base of the game in the fourth inning Monday after reaching on a walk by Eduardo Rodriguez. He got the other two steals on a single by reliever Jordan Montgomery in the seventh. He stole second and took third two pitches later.
All three stolen bases came against Adrian Del Castillo, a backup catcher in the lineup because regular starter Gabriel Moreno is on the injured list. Throwing out baserunners isn’t a specialty for the rookie, who has caught just one of 22 base stealers this season. (Teoscar Hernández also stole second in the seventh after Slade Cecconi replaced Montgomery.)
The Dodgers have 24 games left, giving Ohtani ample opportunity to hit six home runs and steal four extra bases in a season that no other player in the major leagues has accomplished.
Previously, the most bases stolen by Ohtani in a season was 26 in 2021, when he won his first American League MVP award. However, he also had 10 steals, tied for the most in MLB that year.
Ohtani has clearly made an effort to run more this season, likely motivated by his move to the leadoff position when Mookie Betts was injured. It’s also likely that he’ll be able to focus more on stealing bases this season without having to worry about pitching as he recovers from elbow surgery.
New rules such as the pitch clock, larger bases and fewer pickoff throws, with the pitching rubber only allowed twice per at bat, have certainly helped.
