Shohei Ohtani Breaks Dodger Stadium Record With Latest Moonshot Home Run
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani powered his team to a win over the Kansas City Royals, doing a historic amount of damage with his two home runs.
Ohtani went yard for the first time in the bottom of the third inning, putting the Dodgers on top 1-0. With a launch angle of 27 degrees and an exit velocity of 114.3 miles per hour, the solo shot went 451 feet to center.
That marked Ohtani's second home run of 450 feet or more at Dodger Stadium this season. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, he is the first player with multiple career homers of that distance at that park since the Statcast Era began in 2015.
Regardless of venue, Ohtani now has three home runs that traveled 450-plus feet in 2024. The Dodgers' single-season record belongs to Joc Pederson, who hit four in 2015, but Ohtani has over three months to tie or break that mark.
The next time Ohtani stepped up to the plate was to lead off the sixth, and he delivered a 400-foot solo homer to right. While it wasn't exactly a historic home run, it doubled the Dodgers' lead over the Royals.
Freeman went back-to-back with Ohtani in the sixth, giving Los Angeles a 3-0 advantage. Neither team scored for the rest of the afternoon and the Dodgers improved to 44-29 in the process.
Ohtani is one of the leading contenders to win NL MVP, immediately making good on the 10-year, $700 million contract he signed with Los Angeles in December.
The 29-year-old is batting .308 with 19 home runs, 46 RBI, 15 stolen bases, a .976 OPS and a 3.5 WAR. He leads the National League with 53 runs and 165 total bases.
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