Fastball

Shohei Ohtani on Track to Do Something Not Seen in More Than 110 Years of History

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins on Wednesday as Shohei Ohtani stepped up his pursuit of baseball immortality once again.

Brady Farkas

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) runs back toward third base against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park on Sept 18.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) runs back toward third base against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park on Sept 18. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Dodgers routed the Miami Marlins 8-4 on Wednesday night in Miami, moving closer to officially claiming the National League West crown.

They are now 89-62 on the season and are seeking the top overall seed in the looming National League playoffs.

In the win, Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani continued his continued pursuit of history by going 1-for-5 with a stolen base. That stolen base was his 49th of the season, which puts him just one stolen base and two home runs away from the magical 50/50 mark.

Beyond that, Ohtani is also angling for some baseball history that hasn't happened in more than 110 years.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Shohei Ohtani leads the NL in HR and has 49 SB

players to lead own league in HR *and* have MORE than 40 SB in a season, since 1900:

1912 Tris Speaker (52 SB, 10 HR)
1909 Ty Cobb (78, 9)
1909 Red Murray (49, 7)
1903 Jimmy Sheckard (67, 9)

h/t @EliasSports

Ohtani is on track to win his third MVP Award in four years and his first in the National League. After signing a 10-year deal worth $700 million last offseason, Ohtani has been everything Los Angeles could have asked for. He is hitting .287 and has 110 RBI to go along with his home run and stolen base numbers. He's got an OPS of .978.

The two teams will play again on Thursday afternoon at 4:40 p.m. ET. Jack Flaherty will take the mound for Los Angeles while Edward Cabrera pitches for Miami.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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