Ohtani stays in Triple Crown pursuit after setting Japanese SB mark
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DENVER -- Shohei Ohtani continues to re-write the record book among his countrymen.
With his 57th stolen base of the season in the second inning of the Dodgers’ 11-4 win over the Rockies on Friday night at Coors Field, Ohtani surpassed Ichiro Suzuki for the most stolen bases in a single season by a Japanese-born player. Ichiro set the previous mark of 56 in his rookie season in 2001.
“He is somebody I admire and look up to,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after matching Ichiro earlier this week.
Los Angeles (96-64) also moved closer to earning the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series as Philadelphia (94-66) lost to Washington. However, the Phillies hold the tiebreaker over the Dodgers.
In what has turned into the best offensive season of his career, Ohtani has set quite a few records among Japanese-born players. He passed manager Dave Roberts for the most homers and stolen bases recorded in a single season by a Japanese player in franchise history.
Ohtani also passed his childhood idol, Hideki Matsui, for most career homers by a Japanese-born player. The two-way Japanese superstar is still only entering his peak seasons. By the end of his career, Ohtani might claim just about every record by Japanese-born players.
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As he continues to break records, Ohtani also has his sights set on a potential Triple Crown. After hammering his 54th homer of the season on Friday and getting his RBI count to 130, Ohtani will finish atop the NL in both of those categories.
For Ohtani to wrap up the first Triple Crown in the sport since 2012, he’s going to need to catch the Padres’ Luis Arraez in batting average.
Arraez came into Friday’s games with a .312 average. Ohtani, on the other hand, was at .305. But after a 4-for-5 night, Ohtani’s batting average is now .309, putting him within striking distance with two games left in the regular season.
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Roberts added that Ohtani will be in the Dodgers’ lineup all three games against the Rockies, giving the two-way superstar every opportunity to continue to add to his historic offensive season.
“He’s had a tremendous season,” Roberts said. “When you get to the one-yard line on certain statistics, whether it’s a potential Triple Crown, a 60-60, whatever it might be, stealing 60 bases, you want to try to get there as best you can.”