It's also the first ML, and now it's not surprising, the milestone of a monster that Aaron couldn't stop
Aug 10, 2025
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LA Dodgers 'Superstar' Ohtani started as the No. 1 designated hitter in a home game against the Toronto Blue Jays at LA Dodger Stadium in California on the 10th (Korea time) and played 2 hits (one home run) in 4 at-bats (one RBI and two runs). The team also won a big victory with a score of 9 to 1.
In particular, Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the season. In the bottom of the fifth inning, with one out and no runners, he hit an outside sinker on the fifth pitch against Toronto starter Chris Bassett and connected it with a solo home run over the fence in the middle. It was his 40th home run of the season. It was a super-large cannon with a flying distance of 417 feet (about 127.1 m).
With this, Ohtani has achieved 40 home runs for three consecutive seasons. He made his big league debut in 2018, and hit 46 home runs for the first time in the 2021 season, reaching the 40 home runs mark. However, he failed to challenge for 40 consecutive home runs the following year, recording 34 home runs.
His last career peak was in 2023, his last season with the Los Angeles Angels. He hit 44 home runs that year, and last year, the first year of his transfer to the Dodgers, he broke the record for most home runs in a single season with 54 home runs. And this year, he has achieved 40 home runs, showing a home run pace as good as last year.
With this, Ohtani came close to Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia), the home run leader in the National League. The leader in home runs in the Major League is Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), who hit 44 home runs.
This is the first time since Chris Davis of the Oakland Athletics in the 2016-2018 season that he has recorded 40 home runs in three consecutive seasons in the Major League Baseball. Neither Aaron Judge (Yankees) nor Schwarber achieved the "home run king."
In particular, Ohtani wrote another new record, the first player to achieve 40 home runs for three consecutive seasons within seven years of entering the big league.
Above all, it is even more surprising that he has returned as a pitcher this season. Ohtani, who hit 54 home runs as a batter last season after elbow surgery. However, this year, he also started his return as a pitcher in earnest. The actual pitching, which started with one inning pitching, has recently increased to four innings, and it is expected that normal pitching will be possible soon.
Ohtani has struck out 25 in eight starts, and has already achieved a 40-homer-25 strikeout record three times in a season. It's a record that Babe Ruth couldn't achieve either.
He is currently competing for NL MVP with Pete Crow Armstrong (Cubs) and Schwarber. Will he be able to win back-to-back titles. Depends on his performance for the rest of the season.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
