We aren’t even at the All-Star break, and Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has already set the record for most home runs in the majors by a Japanese-born player.
Ohtani crushed home run No. 32 of the season to give the Angels a 3-2 lead on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. The home run breaks Hideki Matsui’s record of 31 — in 2004 with the New York Yankees — for most homers hit by a Japanese-born player in a single MLB season.
Unreal. pic.twitter.com/NPJEYOv2Yf
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 7, 2021
With his 32nd home run, Shohei Ohtani now holds the record for most home runs in a single season by a Japanese-born player! pic.twitter.com/pCpUQkX3XF
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 7, 2021
It also ended up being a very important run in the Angels’ 5-4 win.
Matsui released a (very classy) statement in response to Ohtani’s record-setting bomb:
Shohei Ohtani broke Hideki Matsui’s record for homers in a season by a Japanese-born player with 32 and Matsui released a statement: pic.twitter.com/Doe5O9oEfe
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) July 7, 2021
It’s been a truly unheard of season by Ohtani, whose 32 homers lead the majors by four (the Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 28). He’s also third in OPS at 1.064. This is while putting together a 3.49 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 67 innings as a pitcher.
Add up Ohtani’s tremendous value as a hitter and pitcher, and you can understand why he entered Wednesday tied for the MLB lead in wins above replacement at 5.4, according to Baseball Reference. As Matsui said about Ohtani, “There is no one else like him.”
