Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Hit One of the Most Ridiculous Home Runs of MLB Season

Ohtani never ceases to amaze.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning of Friday's win over the Colorado Rockies.
Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits a two-run home run in the fifth inning of Friday's win over the Colorado Rockies. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Shohei Ohtani never ceases to amaze.

Just one day after the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season thanks to a three-homer, 10-RBI performance against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani was at it again against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Facing Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland with one runner on and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ohtani worked the count full. Freeland then delivered a 92-mph fastball at the letters, a pitch that almost certainly would have been ball four.

But Ohtani had other ideas, as he crushed the pitch 423 feet over the center field wall for his 52nd home run of the year as the Dodger Stadium crowd let out an audible gasp.

There is perhaps only one baseball player on the planet who could have hit a pitch that high in the zone out of the park—and that's Ohtani.

Ohtani made some more history in the Dodgers' 6–4 win, as he homered and stole a base in the same game for the 14th time this season, breaking the previous mark for a single season set by then-New York Yankees outfielder Rickey Henderson in 1986.

Ohtani, the presumptive National League MVP, has posted a .297/.378/.635 slash line with 125 runs scored, 52 homers, 122 RBI and 52 stolen bases in 151 games played this season.


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Tim Capurso

TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.