"The Greatest FA Debut Season in History", Ohtani 50-50 '6 Home Run-7 Stealers' Left...September 24G last minute spurt!

Sep 01, 2024

'The Greatest FA Debut Season in History', Ohtani 50-50 '6 Home Run-7 Stealers' Left...September 24G last minute spurt!
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is waiting for his first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on the 1st (Korea time). AFP Yonhap News
'The Greatest FA Debut Season in History', Ohtani 50-50 '6 Home Run-7 Stealers' Left...September 24G last minute spurt!
LA Dodgers manager Shoheiga Ohtani and manager Dave Roberts share high-fives after winning against Arizona on the 1st (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani is highly likely to realize his first 50 home runs and 50 steals in history.

Ohtani scored one hit, two RBIs and one run from five times at bat, including one home run, in an away game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on the 1st (Korea time).

Ohtani fired a cannon at his first at-bat in the top of the first inning. Against KBO-born Arizona starter Merrill Kelly, he hit an 84.7-mile curve that fell into the middle of the eighth pitch on a full count and crossed the center fence. The ball, which flew at an angle of 35 degrees and 108.9 miles, slightly crossed the deepest fence to the left in the middle of Chase Field. a distance of 420 feet.

'The Greatest FA Debut Season in History', Ohtani 50-50 '6 Home Run-7 Stealers' Left...September 24G last minute spurt!
Otani is enjoying the joy with his teammates after hitting a solo home run in the first inning. AP Yonhap News
Ohtani, who reached the 43-homer mark for the first time in history against Arizona the previous day, ended August with 44-homer-43 steals, adding one home run without stealing. Ohtani's accuracy slowed down with a batting average of 0.235 (27 hits in 115 at-bats) in 27 games he played in August, but he added 12 home runs and 15 steals by showing his slugging and mobility to the highest level.

Ohtani is the second person to mark 10 home runs and 15 steals on a monthly basis. Carlos Beltran previously hit 10 home runs and 16 steals in August 2004 when he was a member of the Houston Astros. This brings Ohtani to 50-50, which is considered one of the greatest milestones in major league history.

With this, Ohtani had a batting average of 0.293 (155 hits in 529 at-bats), 44 home runs, 98 RBIs, 107 runs, 43 steals, a on-base percentage of 0.377, a slugging percentage of 0.622, OPS of 0.999, 80 long hits, and 329 hits. Ohtani, who ranks first in home runs, runs, slugging percentage, OPS, long balls, and Ruta in the National League (NL), added two RBIs on the day to catch up with Atlanta Braves Marcel Ojuna, and tied for first in the RBI category.

Starting with Ohtani in the first inning, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit three consecutive home runs, winning 8-6. This is the first time in Dodgers history in 141 years that the first three hitters hit home runs in succession at the start of the game.

'The Greatest FA Debut Season in History', Ohtani 50-50 '6 Home Run-7 Stealers' Left...September 24G last minute spurt!
Otani is looking at the ball after hitting a solo home run in Chungwol in the top of the first inning. AP Yonhap News
The Dodgers, which won four consecutive games, marked 82 wins and 54 losses and maintained the top spot in the entire Major League. The gap with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are second in the NL West, widened to six games. The FanGraphs presented the Dodgers' playoff probability at 100.0%, the district championship probability at 94.8%, and the World Series championship probability at 16.7%, respectively.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, "He's doing an incredible job when Ohtani scored 43-43 the day before. I don't know what to say. There's nothing else I can do to him in the best possible way."

Ohtani can record 52 home runs and 51 steals if he maintains his current pace. The Dodgers will play 24 games in September when the final race will be held. Ohtani will conquer the historic 50-50 mark if he adds six home runs and seven steals. At the moment, it is more than 50% likely to be achieved. In other words, there is only a last-minute spurt left.

Ohtani's season is also called the first season of the greatest FA contract in major league history. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers in the FA market last winter. It is the largest single contract in the history of North American professional sports.

Local media outlet Bleacher Report reports 'Otani Shohei is running towards the 50-50 season. In an article titled 'The Greatest FA Contract Debut Season in Major League History', Ohtani's season this season is also worthy of appeal in relation to the greatest FA debut season in Major League history. Of course, this includes 1988 Dodgers' Kirk Gibson 'Otani marks bWAR 6.9 and fWAR 6.5 even though he does not defend and pitcher. 'If you keep your pace as it is now, you will reach bWAR 7.6'

Gibson, considered a hero of the 1988 Dodgers World Series, was named NL MVP after signing a three-year, $4.5 million FA contract earlier that year, and made a historic scene in Game 1 of the World Series, hitting a walk-off home run and limping around the base. Gibson marked bWAR 6.5 and fWAR 6.2 that year, respectively.

According to the bWAR ranking in the first season of the FA contract, Roger Clemens topped the list with 10.7 in 1997, followed by Barry Bonds (10.5), Randy Johnson (9.5), Alex Rodriguez (7.8) in 2001, and Greg Maddax (7.5) in 1993. In other words, Ohtani is included in this category.





jhno@sportschosun.com