Shohei Ohtani is closing in on a historic 50-50 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar stole three bases in Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving him 46 for the season. He hit his 44th home run of the year in Saturday’s 8-6 win over Arizona.
Ohtani stole his first base of the game in the fourth inning Monday after reaching base on a walk by Eduardo Rodriguez. He got the other two steals after a single off reliever Jordan Montgomery in the seventh. He stole second, then took third two pitches later.
All three stolen bases came against Adrian Del Castillo, a backup catcher in the lineup because regular starter Gabriel Moreno is on the injured list. Throwing out runners on base isn’t a specialty for the rookie, who has caught just one of 22 base stealers this season. (Teoscar Hernández also stole second base in the seventh after Slade Cecconi replaced Montgomery.)
The Dodgers have 24 games remaining, giving Ohtani plenty of opportunities to hit six home runs and steal four more bases for a season no other major leaguer has achieved.
Previously, Ohtani’s most stolen bases in a season was 26 in 2021, the year he won his first American League MVP award. However, he was also caught stealing 10 times, tied for the most stolen bases in MLB that year.
Ohtani has clearly made an effort to run more this season, likely motivated by his move to leadoff when Mookie Betts was injured. It’s also likely that he can focus more on stealing bases without having to worry about pitching this season as he recovers from elbow surgery.
New rules such as the pitch clock, larger bases and fewer pickoff throws, with only two pitching pad clearances allowed in a plate appearance, also surely helped.