Shohei Ohtani Set New Dodgers Records Before All-Star Break
Shohei Ohtani is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after joining the team on a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract this past offseason.
The 30-year-old hit .316/.400/.635 with 23 doubles, four triples, 29 home runs, 69 RBI, 23 stolen bases and 75 runs scored in 429 plate appearances during the first half (94 games).
Ohtani led the Dodgers in nearly every offensive stat and set multiple first half records along the way, including most total bases and most extra-base hits.
He earned a fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance and served as the starting designated hitter for the National League, going 1-for-2 with a three-run homer and walk.
Ohtani became the first Dodgers player to hit a home run in the All-Star Game since Mike Piazza (1996) and joined Ichiro Suzuki as the only Japanese-born players to do so.
Ohtani also became the only player in MLB history to have all of his team’s RBI and walks in an All-Star Game.
Perhaps even most impressive is Ohtani has done all of this while he continues to rehab his right elbow after undergoing surgery on it last year.
Now the Dodgers will look for him to close out a strong season and help carry them to a World Series title in what will be his first playoff appearance.
Shohei Ohtani’s 1st half Dodgers records
Most total bases
Ohtani had 235 total bases during the first half, which not only led the Majors, but topped Cody Bellinger’s Dodgers franchise record of 220 in 2019.
Ohtani’s 29 home runs are the second most by a Dodgers player in the first half, trailing only Bellinger’s 30 that he hit during the 2019 season. Bellinger won the NL MVP that year and is the most recent Dodgers player to earn the honor.
Most extra-base hits before All-Star break
Ohtani also passed Duke Snider for the most extra-base hits by a Dodgers player before the All-Star break with 56.
Snider previously held the record with 55 extra-base hits, which had stood since the 1954 season
