Tuesday night witnessed another historic chapter written by Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers star. In a resounding 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, Ohtani not only hit his 30th home run of the season, but did so in a way that once again catapulted him into the record books. With this shot, the Japanese became the fastest player in Angels history to reach 30 home runs in a single season, achieving it in just 86 games.
Ohtani’s home run came in the fourth inning off White Sox starter Shane Smith. After a 3-2 count, Ohtani hit a slider that flew 408 feet at 116.3 mph into the right field pavilion. The two-out blast capped an explosive start for the Dodgers’ offense, which had scored four runs in the first inning.
After the game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was very happy with Ohtani’s achievement and valued the importance of this new milestone in the Japanese player’s career. “He’s not just unique, he’s rewriting what’s possible in this game.”
Another record for Ohtani
With this home run, Ohtani joins an elite club by reaching the mark of 30 home runs for the fifth consecutive season and it is the third time he has achieved this feat before the All-Star break. In addition, no other player in MLB history has recorded multiple starts from the mound and hit 30 home runs in the same season. Ohtani has achieved this record on four occasions
Statistically, Ohtani is outperforming every leadoff hitter in MLB history. His 30 home runs are the most ever from the leadoff spot in a team’s first 86 games
The Ohtani factor
Ohtani’s impact translates directly into wins for the team. In games where the Japanese star hits a home run, the Dodgers have an impressive 20-7 record. Tuesday’s victory was the eighth in 10 games for the Dodgers, who boast the best record in baseball at 54-32 and hold a comfortable nine-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.
There is no doubt that when Ohtani is doing well, his team is also doing well. The process of recovering from his injury has been slow and hard, but little by little he is getting back to his best and both his teammates and Dodgers fans are grateful.
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