Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani beats the tag by Miami Marlins third baseman Connor Norby to post his 50th stolen base of the MLB season
Miami (AFP) - Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is halfway to making Major League Baseball history after grabbing his 50th and 51st stolen bases of the season on Thursday.
With 48 home runs, Ohtani is no just two homers shy of becoming the first player in MLB history to have 50 homers and 50 steals in a season.
The Japanese star is already the fastest player to reach 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a season and he nabbed his 50th steal in the first inning against the Marlins.
Ohtani belted a leadoff double and stole third, his well-timed slide allowing him to evade a tag by Marlins third baseman Connor Norby.
Ohtani scored on a sacrifice fly and one inning later he notched his 51st steal, swiping second after a single.
With his 50th stolen base, Ohtani surpassed Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for the second most by a Japanese-born player in MLB history.
Ohtani recorded his 51th stolen base of the season in the second inning, putting him five shy of matching Ichiro Suzuki’s record of 56 set in 2001.