Shohei Ohtani is closing in on a historic 50-50 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar stole three bases in Monday’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving him 46 on 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 base on a walk by Eduardo Rodriguez. He got the other two steals after a single off reliever Jordan Montgomery in the seventh. He stole second base and then 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 disabled list. Throwing out baserunners is not a specialty for the rookie, who has caught just one of 22 base stealers this season. (Teoscar Hernandez also stole second base in the seventh after Slade Cecconi replaced Montgomery.)
The Dodgers have 24 games remaining on their schedule, giving Ohtani ample opportunity to hit six home runs and steal four more bases in a season than any other major league player has accomplished.
Previously, the most bases Ohtani had stolen in a season was 26 in 2021, when he won his first AL MVP award. However, he was also caught stealing 10 times, tying for the most in MLB that year.
Ohtani has obviously made an effort to run more this season, likely motivated by his move to the leadoff spot when Mookie Betts was injured. He’s also likely to be able to focus more on stealing bases without having to worry about pitching this season as he recovers from elbow surgery.
New rules, such as a shot clock, larger bases and fewer pickoff throws, with only two pitching slips allowed during a plate appearance, have surely helped, too.