Ohtani becomes second player with at least 30 home runs in every season since 2021.
Shohei Ohtani became the first National League hitter to reach 30 home runs on the season during Tuesday’s win against the Chicago White Sox.
Ohtani is now the first Dodger to have two consecutive 30 home run seasons since Mookie Betts from 2022-23, and joins Yankees slugger Aaron Judge as the only two players to have recorded at least 30 home runs in every season since 2021.
The Dodgers have had the luxury of watching Ohtani dominate offensively for the parts of two seasons now, but adding in to his progression on the mound is something Dave Roberts still can’t wrap his head around, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“Just seeing it day to day and all it entails for him to get ready to play a game,” Roberts said, “kind of realize the expectations that he has on himself and still pitching and stay healthy, that’s kind of hard to wrap my head around, to be completely honest. But he’s as good as anyone as I’ve seen at compartmentalizing the expectations, noise, different facets of the game, all while performing.”
Ohtani’s next chance to dazzle on the mound will come against the Houston Astros on Saturday, which is also his 31st birthday.
When Ohtani signed his contract with the Dodgers, the sports community at large was stunned by the amount issued to him. While Juan Soto’s deal with the New York Mets superseded Ohtani’s overall earnings in the contract, his annual average value was nowhere near what Ohtani’s deal was if there was no money deferred.
In the NBA, reigning MVP and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to a four-year extension for $285 million, giving him the most lucrative deal in professional basketball history. Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times compares Gilgeous-Alexander’s contract to that of Ohtani’s and other of the most famous mega-deals.
The day is here, folks. The days has come for Clayton Kershaw to etch his name alongside some of the greatest pitchers of all time by recording his 3,000th strikeout.
Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes about how Kershaw’s teammates feel about him achieving this historic feat, recalling where they were when Kershaw made his big league debut.