by Cary Osborne
When Shohei Ohtani returned to Dodger Stadium on Friday after becoming the first 50/50 player in Major League history the previous day, Dodger fans gave him a standing ovation before his first plate appearance. The Dodger dugout emptied out and then gave Ohtani and impromptu standing ovation.
Now the National League has given Ohtani a bravo after a historic week.
Ohtani, for the third time this season, is the NL Player of the Week. He was also Player of the Week for the span of April 29-May 5 and June 17–23.
The Dodger designated hitter went 16-for-32 with six home runs, 17 RBI, 11 runs scored, seven stolen bases and a .500/.543/1.125/1.668 slash line from Sept. 16–22.
Ohtani’s 6-for-6 game in Miami on Thursday was a milestone bonanza.
He set the single-game Dodger record with 10 RBI. He became the first player in Major League history to hit at least three home runs and steal at least two bases in one game. It was the first game in Major League history where a player had at least five extra-base hits and 10 RBI. And, of course, Ohtani reached 50 home runs (breaking the Dodger single-season record) and stole his 50th base in the game.
Ohtani’s game-tying home run on Sunday gave him 53 for the season. He also stole two bases to put him at 55. He ranks second in the Major Leagues in each category. If he ends the season ranking top two in each category, he will become the third player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.
Hall of Famers Honus Wagner (1908: 10 home runs and 53 stolen bases) and Ty Cobb (1909: nine home runs and 76 stolen bases) are the only players in MLB history to finish top two in homers and stolen bases in a season.
Ohtani’s homer on Sunday gave him 94 extra-base hits this season, tying Babe Herman’s (1930) single-season franchise record.
He also has a run of 32 consecutive stolen bases without getting caught. The Dodger record is 38, by Davey Lopes in 1975. Five players have recorded at least 35 consecutive steals this century — Ichiro Suzuki (45: 2006–2007), Trea Turner (41: 2022–2024), Jimmy Rollins (39: 2007–2008), Coco Crisp (36: 2011–2012) and Rollins again (35: 2001).
Shohei Ohtani’s milestone week now includes NL Player of the Week honor was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.