Shohei Ohtani has made history again, this time in epic fashion.
The Dodgers superstar hit a walk-off grand slam against the Rays on Friday night, marking his 40th career home run and becoming the fastest player in MLB history to reach that milestone. He is the first player in Dodgers history to hit 40/40 and just the sixth player in MLB history to do so.
Ohtani, a two-time American League MVP and current front-runner for the National League MVP award, entered Friday with 39 home runs and 39 stolen bases this season. He stole a base in the fourth inning and grounded out in his next two at-bats. But with the score tied and the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Ohtani hit Colin Posch’s first pitch just over the fence in right-center field to give the Dodgers a 7-3 victory.
Shohei Ohtani hits walk-off grand slam to join the 40/40 club
Ohtani joined the 40/40 club in just 126 games, breaking the previous record of 147 games set by Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals in 2006.
And with more than a month left in the season, Ohtani could become the first player in MLB history to hit 45 home runs and steal 45 bases in a season.
Here’s how 40/40 seasons so far compare to Ohtani’s historic season.
1988: Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics: .307/.391/.569/.959, 42 home runs, 40 stolen bases
That was Canseco’s best year. He displayed a rare combination of power and speed as he became the first player in MLB history to have a 40/40 season. He also became the only player to ever hit over .300 and lead the AL in slugging percentage. Canseco was the AL MVP and ultimately helped the Athletics reach the World Series, where they would fall just short that year, losing 4-1 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1996: Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants: .308/.461/.615/.1.076, 42 home runs, 40 stolen bases
Barry Bonds holds many records, but the first half of his career showed a combination of superior power and speed unknown to younger fans who saw him break the home run record. In 1996, Bonds stole 40 bases, the third time he had 40 or more stolen bases in his career, and 42 home runs. However, despite it being his second season with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, he did not finish in the top three in MVP voting. The bar was a little high for this dynamic outfielder, who won MVP in 1990, 1992 and 1993.
Despite his great play, the Giants finished last in the National League West and missed the playoffs, which is likely why he didn’t get MVP favor.
1998: Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners: .310/.360/.560/.919; 42 HR, 46 SB
Rodriguez, the all-time record holder for stolen bases in a 40/40 season, stole 46 bases and struck out 42 big flies, the first and only time he stole 40 bases in his career. Those numbers earned A-Rod MVP voting for the second time in his career, but he finished ninth in the voting despite leading the AL in hits (213) and finishing in the top five in RBIs (124), total bases (384), runs (123) and extra bases (82).
But despite his greatness, Rodriguez and the Mariners finished the season sub-.500 and missed the playoffs, which is surely why he didn’t receive any MVP voting despite his historic season.
2006: Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals: .277/.351/.560/.911, 46 home runs, 41 stolen bases
Soriano is the first player to hit 45+ home runs and 40+ stolen bases in a season, and the most recent player to achieve a 40/40 season. Even more impressive is that it was the only season he played with Washington, and his 46 home runs remain a single-season franchise record to this day. It was also the only season Soriano hit 40+ home runs in his career, and the last season he had more than 35 big fly balls. It was also the last season he stole 40 bases in his career.
But all those numbers and franchise records weren’t enough to garner MVP support. Like the teams that featured the two 40/40 seasons prior to Soriano, the Nationals missed the playoffs and finished last in the National League East.
2023: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves: .337/.416/.596/1.012. 41 HR, 73 SB
At the beginning of last season, it was clear that Acuรฑa would surpass 40 stolen bases in one fell swoop. The intriguing question was how many home runs he would eventually hit. In fact, he hit his 40th home run in the final week of the 2023 regular season, but shortly after, he had already achieved 70 stolen bases. This made him a founding member of the 40/70 club. The previous highest number of stolen bases by a 40/40 member was Rodriguez’s 46 stolen bases in 1998. Acuรฑa had already made history earlier that year by becoming the first player to record 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases. He was also the first National League player to record a 40/40 season while his team made the playoffs.
All of this led to Acuรฑa winning the MVP award and having one of the most impressive individual seasons of all time.
2024: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers: .292/.378/.614/.992. 40 home runs, 40 special runs (through August 23)
Ohtani’s stunning shot on Friday night likely sealed his third MVP award and put him one step closer to a previously unthinkable 50/50 season.
Related: Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge are surefire MVPs? AL favorites? Hall of Famer Joey Votto?
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