HomeEntertainmentSportsShohei Ohtani’s Record-Breaking Night: The Greatest Single-Day Performance in Sports History

Shohei Ohtani’s Record-Breaking Night: The Greatest Single-Day Performance in Sports History

Shohei Ohtani Had the Best Day Any Athlete Has Ever Had

The charter member of baseball’s 50/50 club turned a sleepy Thursday night game into one of the most memorable nights in sports history.

rofessional baseball has been played in the United States since 1869. Which means that any time someone does something never done before, it’s an enormous deal.

Last night in Miami, Shohei Ohtani did just that. With a truly absurd performance—take a deep breath first: 6-for-6 with three home runs, four runs scored, two doubles, two stolen bases and 10 RBI—Ohtani not only put up a stat line for the ages, he also became the first player ever to post a 50-50 season. That’s 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases. Technically, because he went nuclear on the Marlins, he currently sits at 51-51. It goes without saying that no one has ever done that either.

When Ohtani first came stateside in 2018, the allure of him being both a hitting and pitching sensation caused baseball fans’ minds to run wild with possibilities. Is this actually the modern Babe Ruth? Will he ever hit and pitch in the same game? What does this mean for fantasy leagues? But this year, with arm troubles keeping him off the mound, we’re seeing the type of power he can harness when solely focused on the bat. And my oh my, has it been something. Heading into Thursday night’s game, Ohtani was sitting on 49 stolen bases and 48 dingers. After leading off the game with a double, he pounced on his opportunity in the first inning. Not for nothing, he got his 50th bag by stealing third base, which is much harder than stealing second base.

In his next at-bat—which came in the second inning, as the Dodgers were already boat racing the Marlins—he whacked an RBI single. Ho hum, might as well turn it into a double by promptly stealing second base. (If not for Reds’ shortstop Elly De La Cruz, who might be an actual superhero, Ohtani would lead MLB in steals.) In the third inning, he picked up his second double of the day and got thrown out trying to extend it into a triple. Had that happened, this baseball bonanza would have also included a cycle. What a show off.
The funniest part of this night was that none of Ohtani’s three home runs came before the sixth inning. His first was a no-doubter, landing in the area usually reserved for secret vaping. That shot put him at 49 for the season, and just an inning later, he crushed his 50th—a two-strike opposite-field bomb that real baseball fans could appreciate.
As Joe Davis put it, barely able to contain his excitement, Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind player having a one-of-a-kind season. Soon, we’ll see him in the postseason for the first time, a gift that highlights how badly the Angels mishandled his six years in Anaheim. His final home run of the night may have come off a position player pitching, but it still counted—a Bonds-ian blast.
Ohtani didn’t just become the first player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season; he also broke the Dodgers’ single-season home run record. Shawn Green’s 49 now becomes trivia, although Green still holds the MLB record for most total bases in a game (19). Ohtani is one of seven players to reach 17 total bases in a game—without needing four home runs.
In summary: 17 total bases, 50 homers in a season (a Dodgers first), and 50 homers with 50 stolen bases (a baseball first). Add two stolen bases and 10 RBIs for garnish. This was baseball’s version of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, except Ohtani’s talent, unlike Wilt’s, isn’t mythical—it’s real.

Matthew Roberson is a Staff Writer for GQ Sports.