It took all of 30 minutes for Shohei Ohtani to close the 50/50 club and establish the 51/51 club, becoming its inaugural member.
The one-in-a-lifetime superstar and the undisputed face of baseball one-upped himself in a way only he can, slugging his 51st home run of the season to cap off a day for the ages.
With that hit — a towering moonshot to deep right field that found its way into the upper deck of Miami LoanDepot Park — Ohtani improved his already spectacular line on the day to 6-for-6, with three home runs, 10 RBIs, two doubles and two stolen bases.
Not only did he become the first-ever player to enter the 50/50 club and the 51/51 club (and so many other clubs that came before), he also became the first player in MLB history to have three home runs and two stolen bases in the same game.
You’re not supposed to be this good at both of those things. The only thing that could make him even more impressive would be if he could pitch or something… wait a second.
Ohtani went into Thursday’s outing needing two home runs and one stolen base to reach the 50/50 mark, but if there’s one guy that’s going to go above and beyond, it’s him.
Though he generally appears quiet off the baseball diamond, Ohtani has proven he clearly has a penchant for the dramatic after joining the exclusive 40/40 club weeks ago with a spectacular walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Another thing about Ohtani, he loves to share. Three different pitchers will get to their kids and grandkids, for the rest of their lives, that they gave up a home run to the player who might go down as the greatest of all time on this storied day.
George Soriano was the first to get taken deep, giving up a home run in the top of the sixth inning to right field. An inning later, Mike Baumann took the mound and suffered the same result, however this time it was a shot to opposite field for Ohtani’s sparkling 50th homer. Then, in the ninth, Vidal Brujan got a taste of Ohtani’s power with the 51st home run.
Where Ohtani has gone has been uncharted territory for some time now, but as he continues to show no signs of slowing down, the new flags he plants seem further and further away from ever being replicated.
What can you do but watch?