LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Climbs All-Time Statcast Leaderboards With Latest Home Run

Shohei Ohtani blasted his 39th home run of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger 13 with an exit velocity of at least 113 miles per hour.

Aug 18, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. / Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

Shohei Ohtani has been mashing all season long, and the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar didn't show any signs of slowing down on Sunday.

Ohtani already made history earlier in the series, blasting a home run and stealing two bases against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The 30-year-old designated hitter wasn't done just yet, as he came through in a big way during Sunday's series finale in St. Louis.

After coming up empty in his first two at-bats, Ohtani stepped up to the plate with one out and nobody on in the top of the fifth. Sonny Gray left a curveball hanging over the middle on the first pitch of the at-bat, and Ohtani immediately made him pay.

Ohtani crushed the ball 113.5 miles per hour with a launch angle of 22 degrees, sending it 396 feet to right-center field. It cleared the fence, putting Los Angeles on top 1-0.

According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, that was Ohtani's 13th home run with an exit velocity of at least 113 miles per hour this season. That is good for the third-most in the Statcast era, which began in 2015.

Giancarlo Stanton set the record with 18 such bombs in 2017, while Aaron Judge ranks second with the 15 he hit that same season.

SHOHEI

113.5 MPH

most 113+ mph HR in a season under Statcast (2015):

2017 Giancarlo Stanton: 18
2017 Aaron Judge: 15
2024 Shohei Ohtani: 13 https://t.co/svn3XKA8vd

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 18, 2024

The Dodgers went on to win 2-1 on Sunday, while Ohtani finished the afternoon 1-for-5 at the plate.

Despite the fact that Ohtani is batting .135 with a .658 OPS since Aug. 6, he is still boasts a .290 batting average and .990 OPS on the season as a whole. His 6.1 WAR leads all National League position players, placing him right in the center of the NL MVP race in the first year of his 10-year, $700 million contract.

Langs also noted that Ohtani is approaching the 40-40 club in record time. With 39 home runs and 37 stolen bases under his belt through 122 games, it's only a matter of time before he reaches both milestones.

Alfonso Soriano remains the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season, doing so in 147 games. Ohtani is on pace to blow that mark out of the water, and he would become the sixth player ever to join the 40-40 club in the process.

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