Shohei Ohtani just made Major League Baseball history.
On Sunday, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar crushed a historic home run against the New York Mets. Ohtani’s blast was the 176th home run of his abbreviated but illustrious career.
With that home run, Ohtani passed former New York Yankees great Hideki Matsui for the most home runs hit by a Japanese-born MLB player.
Ohtani’s blast brought everyone at Dodger Stadium to their feet. Just as his homers so often do.
Shohei Ohtani! 💣⚾️
The #Dodgers star hits his 176th career home run — the most HRs by a Japanese-born player in MLB history!pic.twitter.com/5IPuJMoc44
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) April 21, 2024
The Dodgers superstar has made a lot of history throughout his incredible career. Before joining the Dodgers, he starred for the Los Angeles Angels as a two-way sensation. Ohtani won two American League Most Valuable Player awards. He’s playing the designated hitter role all year with the Dodgers, but will likely roll back to throwing off the mound as well once he’s fully healthy.
LA hopes that Ohtani can bring the team another World Series championship, as their quests have come up short often. Last season, the Dodgers once again lost in the postseason. But they responded by signing Ohtani and prized free agent Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Shohei’s two-run homer lifted the Dodgers up over the Mets. He got the party started in a big way that the Dodgers have kept going throughout the afternoon at Chavez Ravine, with them leading 10-0 after six innings.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022