The way Shohei Ohtani’s 2024 season began, could anyone have imagined where he’d be come September? The Dodgers’ campaign began in South Korea while 28 other clubs strewn across Florida and metropolitan Phoenix were still in spring training.
Before the club made the return trip from their opening two-game series vs. the San Diego Padres, Ohtani found himself embroiled in a gambling scandal that — temporarily — had many wondering if he had literally bet money on himself. Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer and Callie Lawson-Freeman outlined the timeline of the saga, which ended with the firing of and subsequent criminal charges against Ohtani’s longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara.
Ultimately, Ohtani’s name was cleared, and he embarked on the first 50-home-run, 50-stolen-base season in MLB history. And, in fact, he embarked on 51-51.
Here’s a timeline of Ohtani’s season for the ages:
March 20: Ohtani’s rewriting of the record books began with a 2-for-5 performance — and the first steal of his campaign — in a 5-2 Dodgers win over the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea. The game went off without a hitch, despite a bomb threat targeting Ohtani and others at the Gocheok Sky Dome just hours before first pitch.
March 28: After a split with the Padres in South Korea, the Dodgers returned home to their Blue Heaven, Chavez Ravine. In Ohtani’s first Dodger Stadium plate appearance in a home uniform, he ripped a double down the right-field line but ended the play ruled out, ironically, on a baserunning error. It didn’t matter much, as he ended his day 2-for-3 with a run scored in a 7-1 romp of the St. Louis Cardinals.
April 3: One of Ohtani’s longest homer-less streaks ended in the ninth game, when he belted his first of the season, a 430-foot bomb off San Francisco Giants side-arm reliever Taylor Rogers.
There was a tinge of controversy, though, as the fan who caught the milestone ball and her husband claimed that the team strong-armed her into surrendering the valuable memorabilia for a paltry sum.
April 12: Ohtani went deep for the fourth time of the season and tacked on two doubles on the day his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was arrested for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars.
April 21: HR No. 5 carried some historical significance, as Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui’s record for MLB homers hit by a Japanese-born player.
Most MLB home runs by Japanese-born players:
Shohei Ohtani, 176 (at the time)
Hideki Matsui, 175
Ichiro Suzuki, 117
Kenji Johjima, 48
Tadahito Iguchi, 44
April 26: Ever the showman — and foreshadowing some dramatic performances to follow — Ohtani smacked his seventh home run of the season at Toronto’s Rogers Centre after being introduced to a chorus of boos.
Blue Jays fans were still very salty about losing out in the Ohtani Sweepstakes™ on what was by far the most confusing day of the previous MLB offseason. Chaos and misinformation reigned on Dec. 9, 2023, with subterfuge and conflicting reports being strewn about and thousands of fans tracking a private jet traveling from Orange County to Toronto and thought to contain Ohtani.
The plane turned out to be transporting Canadian businessman and “Shark Tank” host Robert Herjavec.
Ohtani completes April with seven total home runs and five total stolen bases.
May 6: Ohtani hit HR No. 11, a 441-footer, to cap a three-day, four-homer tear. It marked the eighth time in Ohtani’s career that he has homered in three straight games.
May 16: The Dodgers’ first Ohtani bobblehead night was predictably popular. Nonetheless, the sight of a sea of fans and collectible hounds rushing the ballpark hours before first pitch was jaw-dropping. “It’s exciting. Shohei certainly creates a stir,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters. “I can’t imagine what it’s like outside. It’s good. It’s great for Shohei, it’s good for the Dodgers, it’s going to be a hot-ticket item.”
Ohtani went 0-for-2 with a stolen base in a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
May 27: That $700 million wasn’t just for Ohtani’s bat, and so it was a welcomed development for the Dodgers to have Ohtani start throwing from 60 feet after recovering from offseason elbow surgery.
May 29: The Dodgers swept the Mets at what was perhaps New York’s lowest point of the season, capping it off with Ohtani’s 399-foot blast in a 10-3 win. That ended a nine-game HR-less slump — the longest of the season — for Ohtani, and his 2-for-5 day at the plate halted a 7-for-37 run.
Ohtani completes May with 14 total home runs and 13 total stolen bases.
June 5: One of the dominant storylines of the early part of the season was the debut of Pittsburgh Pirates fireballing rookie Paul Skenes. Making just his fifth MLB start, Skenes entered a game against the Dodgers 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts.
His 31st K was a thing of beauty.
That’s what three 100-plus mph whiffs look like. But Ohtani got Skenes back in his next at-bat, cracking HR No. 14 of the season — and beginning a 12-homer month that set him on the path to 50-50.
June 20: Ohtani reached the 20-HR mark in a 5-3 win over the Rockies in Denver.
June 21: Facing the team he played for during the first six seasons of his MLB career, Ohtani went 2-for-2 with a homer and two walks against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.
Asked after the game if it felt strange facing the other club with Los Angeles in its moniker, Ohtani said: “We played at home today, so not necessarily. I think it’s going to feel a bit different when we play in [Angel] Stadium.”
Ohtani completes June with 25 total home runs and 16 total stolen bases.
July 3: Ohtani was named the NL starter at DH for the All-Star Game after winning a run-off with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber. It was Ohtani’s fourth selection to the Midsummer Classic, and it made him the first player elected to start at DH in four straight All-Star Games.
July 13: Ohtani reached a career milestone by swatting his 200th MLB homer — No. 28 of the season — in a walk-off loss to the Tigers in Detroit.
July 16: In the top of the third inning of the All-Star Game, Tanner Houck left an 89 mph splitter over the middle of the plate — and instantly regretted it. Ohtani deposited the ball 400 feet deep into the right-field stands to put the NL up 3-0. The AL ultimately rallied for a 5-3 win in Arlington, Texas.
July 21: Ohtani’s 30th home run of the season was an absolute monster, and he got to 30 before anyone else in the National League.
Yup, it nearly cleared the right-field pavilion. At 473 feet, it was the second-longest home run at Dodger Stadium in the Statcast era, following a 475-foot Giancarlo Stanton moon shot in 2015.
Ohtani completes July with 31 total home runs and 28 total stolen bases.
Aug. 3: Ohtani swiped his 29th, 30th and 31st bags of the season against the hapless Oakland A’s, becoming the third-fastest player to a 30-30 season. It took him 108 games, behind only Eric Davis’ 1987 campaign for the Reds (90 games) and Alex Rodriguez’s 1998 season for the Mariners (107 games).
Aug. 23: More flair for the dramatic. On a cool midsummer Friday, Ohtani launched a walk-off grand slam for his 40th home run of the season, clinching the fastest entry ever into the 40-40 club:
Let’s just admire the reverse 4K angle as well:
“One of my top memorable moments, and I hope that I can do more [to make] memorable moments,” Ohtani told reporters, via an interpreter, in the clubhouse after a wild on-field celebration.
Aug. 24: Mere hours after that wild scene, Ohtani threw off the mound for the first time since his Sept. 19, 2023, UCL surgery.
Aug. 25: Ohtani capped an eventful weekend by escaping injury after getting hit on the hand by a pitch.
Aug. 28: Ohtani’s second bobblehead night of the season (this one featuring his dog, Dekopin, or Decoy in English) was even more of a draw, with lines of fans outside the stadium gates spilling onto neighboring Sunset Boulevard seven hours ahead of first pitch.
Once inside, even the most disappointed of fans who missed out on the giveaway were treated to an adorable ceremonial first pitch, with Ohtani catching the ball from Decoy:
With all eyes already on him, Ohtani did what Ohtani does: He hit homer No. 42 on the season and stole his 42nd base in a 6-4 win over the Orioles.
Aug. 30: Ohtani etched his name in the record books (again) by becoming the first player to post a 43-home-run, 43-stolen-base season when he notched one of each in a 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks. The previous highest combo season belonged to Alex Rodriguez, who went 42-42 in 1998.
Aug. 31: This was what the National League feared from the Dodgers’ top-heavy batting order. The longball threat roared in the top of the first inning, when Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit back-to-back-to-back homers off Arizona starter Merrill Kelly. The show of force happened on four pitches, and each homer traveled at least 400 feet. It was Ohtani’s 45th homer. The Dodgers won 8-6.
Ohtani completes August with 44 total home runs and 43 total stolen bases.
Sept. 2: On the basepaths, Ohtani jumped all over Arizona’s backup catcher. He swiped three bags off the Diamondbacks’ Adrian Del Castillo in an 11-6 Dodgers victory. It was the second time this season that Ohtani pulled off a stealing trifecta.
Sept. 3: In his first regular-season return to Angel Stadium, Ohtani received a nice round of applause from the fans of his former team. Kudos to the Angels for showing their sense of humor with his billboard bio blurb:
Ohtani hit an RBI triple and scored twice in the Dodgers’ 6-2 victory.
Sept. 6: Ohtani got 90 percent of the way to the 50/50 milestone by hitting his 45th homer in a 3-1 defeat against Cleveland.
Sept. 8: Home run No. 46 came on a 103-degree day in L.A. and required a review to determine whether the 450-foot shot stayed within the foul pole. Per the broadcast, Ohtani’s homer had an exit velocity of 116 mph. With it, he tied his single-season career high in homers, set in his 2021 MVP season.
Sept. 11: A homer and a stolen base brought Ohtani to the 47-48 mark in a 10-8 victory against the Cubs. It was the 12th time this season that Ohtani stole a base and homered in the same game, which is one short of Rickey Henderson’s single-season record.
Sept. 13: As if Ohtani hadn’t already contributed enough to the Dodgers’ World Series aspirations, manager Dave Roberts said he is “not going to close the door 100%” on letting the superstar pitch in the playoffs.
Sept. 19: In the series finale vs. the Marlins, Ohtani was a juggernaut. He swiped two bases to eclipse the 50-stolen base mark and homered for No. 49, No. 50 and No. 51.
His first blast hit the upper deck in Miami and traveled 450 feet.
His second blast achieved something no one had ever done: 50-50.
And against a helpless position player in the ninth inning, Ohtani did it again: 51-51 in the books.
His final stat line vs. Miami: 6-for-6, 3 HR, 2 SB, 2 doubles, 4 runs scored and 10 RBI.
It was the first 10-RBI game in Dodgers history and the first game in MLB history with three homers and two steals.
Shohei Ohtani stands alone in baseball history.
