Since joining Major League Baseball before the 2018 season, Shohei Ohtani has consistently made history with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels.
This trend continued on September 17, when Ohtani hit his 48th home run of the season against the Miami Marlins and pitcher Darren McCaughan. This home run brought his career total to 219, making him the all-time home run leader among Asian-born players in MLB history.
The previous record was held by Shin Soo-Choo, who hit 218 homers during his career, primarily with the Texas Rangers (114), Cleveland Indians (83), Cincinnati Reds (21), and none with the Seattle Mariners.
Ohtani set this new record in just seven seasons, launching 171 homers over six years with the Angels before hitting 48 with the Dodgers this year.
A native of Ōshū, Iwate, Japan, Ohtani surpassed Hideki Matsui’s record of 175 home runs earlier this season, a milestone that was particularly meaningful to him as Matsui is one of his idols.
Ichiro Suzuki is the only other Japanese-born player to exceed 100 home runs in the majors, finishing with 117. No other Japanese players have reached 50 homers, with Kenji Johjima at 48 and Tadahito Iguchi at 44.
Later this year, Ohtani hit his eighth home run with the Dodgers, surpassing manager Dave Roberts to become the all-time home run leader for Japanese-born players in Dodgers history.
**Upcoming Milestones for Ohtani**
Ohtani is now just one home run shy of tying Shawn Green’s franchise record of 49 homers in a single season and two away from breaking it. Achieving this would put him in contention to become the first player in MLB history to record a 50-50 season.
In addition to his 48 home runs, Ohtani has also stolen 48 bases, making him the first player to reach at least 43 home runs and 43 stolen bases in a single season, with each milestone further extending his record.
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