Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani creating more MLB history with 300th home run originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani opened the scoring Tuesday night with a history-making home run.
What else is new?
Connecting on a 93-mph cutter delivered by Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen, Ohtani unleashed a 409-foot solo blast, his 300th career home run.
The four-time NL MVP became the first Japanese-born player to reach the MLB milestone. Hideki Matsui ranks second with 175 homers.
A four-time Silver Slugger recipient, Ohtani continues to create one of the top individual performances in MLB history. Offensively, he entered Wednesday’s series finale at Dodger Stadium with 20 home runs, 56 RBI and a .949 OPS. As a pitcher, he registered an 8-2 record with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts.
As the newest member of the 300-home run club, Ohtani was the first to be initiated with 100 stolen bases. He also joined Steve Finley as the lone sluggers to hit No. 300 as a leadoff hitter. Finley, a 19-year veteran, accomplished the feat on June 14, 2006, with the San Francisco Giants.
Ohtani reached the 300-home run milestone quicker than all but four players. Here is a list:
Player, MLB Games
- 1, Aaron Judge, 955 games
- 2, Ralph Kiner, 1,087
- 3, Ryan Howard, 1,093
- 4, Juan González, 1,096
- 5, Ohtani, 1,101
Tuesday’s leadoff home run was the 31st of his career.
Is it already safe to assume Ohtani will be a future first-vote Hall of Famer?
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- Royals score in each inning, achieve rare feat versus Phillies
- Regretful Red Sox’s Willson Contreras offering powerful, impactful apologies
- Dodgers’ Eliezer Alfonzo makes MLB debut with heavy heart
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