The Los Angeles Dodgers struck gold when they landed Shohei Ohtani in free agency just two short years ago. Since then, the Dodgers have continued to dominate — and Ohtani has been a massive reason why. This season, he’ll have the opportunity to pitch in a postseason game for the first time, if the Dodgers reach Game 3 of their opening series.
“The Dodgers are close to making it official: Game 1: Blake Snell. Game 2: Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Game 3 (if necessary): Shohei Ohtani,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale posted.
The final week of the regular season was all about rewriting the record books — again. Ohtani shattered milestones he had already set the year prior, proving once more that history isn't safe when he steps onto the field.
“Shohei Ohtani just broke his own record by hitting his 29th home run at Dodger Stadium this season. The previous record was the 28 homers he hit in his first year with LA. Shohei Ohtani is putting the finishing touches on another unanimous MVP,” DodgersNation’s Doug McKain wrote.
But Ohtani didn’t stop there. As if breaking the Dodger Stadium single-season home run mark wasn't enough, he decided to outdo himself again — this time setting the franchise’s overall single-season home run record.
“Ohtani set a career high -- and passed his single-season franchise record -- with his 55th home run in the seventh inning of the Dodgers' final regular-season game, a 6-1 win on Sunday at T-Mobile Park. Last year, he set both the personal and franchise records with 54 long balls in his one-of-a-kind 50-50 season,” MLB.com’s Sonja Chen wrote.
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In back-to-back seasons, Ohtani has shattered both Dodger Stadium and franchise home run records. If he continues at this pace, he may very well break a new record every season — and somehow, he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
Right now, Ohtani is the most astonishing player in the game — and there might not even be anyone close. He’ll look to carry that historic power into the postseason, starting Tuesday.