The Los Angeles Dodgers’ phenom Shohei Ohtani etched his place in baseball history on Sunday. Reason? His soaring two-run homer not only catapulted his team to victory but also marked a significant milestone in his career. Congratulations flowed in as Ohtani surpassed the legendary Hideki Matsui for the most home runs by a Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball history! But this is an interesting story. 

What genuinely separates Ohtani’s achievement is the remarkable efficiency with which he achieved it. Matsui, who is a revered slugger in his own right, stacked 175 homers in 5,066 plate appearances. But Ohtani, on the other hand, accomplished the feat in a mere 2,979 plate appearances. This displays a staggering difference. The Unicorn needed over 2,000 fewer plate appearances to make it to the same milestone. Now that’s some exceptional ability to hit for power.

On one hand, Ohtani expressed relief and happiness after finally breaking the record, on the other his competitive spirit shone through. He said, “Honestly, I was just relieved I was able to just get it over with, I was just happy I was able to do that”. Addressing that Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts said, “I know whatever kind of mark is ahead of Shohei, he’s trying to take them all down”. Now this comes after the two-way phenom shared that he would like to break yet another record. 

The next target Ohtani has is his own manager, Dave Roberts. The 29-year-old joked that he currently is more focused on breaking his managers’ record for the most homers by a Japanese-born player in a Dodgers uniform. Clearly, this was “not something I was cognizant of when I first started my career here, but as I got to know about it,” Ohtani said, he began to pay attention to the stats. And that’s how he ended up beating Matsui’s career as well. 

Shohei Ohtani is onto making and breaking some great records

That said, it’s important to mention that Matsui boasts a higher career home run total; including his dominant years in Japan. With that, it’s worth noting that Ohtani, at the young age of 29, is just getting started. His unique combination of power hitting and pitching makes him a true baseball anomaly. It’s foreseeable that Ohtani is on his way to set and break many more records in the growing career. 

Here’s a deeper dive into the statistical breakdown 

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Shohei Ohtani: 176 home runs in 2,979 plate appearances–MLB only–an average of one home run every 17 plate appearances.

Hideki Matsui: 175 home runs in 5,066 plate appearances–MLB only–an average of one home run every 29 plate appearances.

The two-way phenom’s achievement not only serves as a proof of his raw power but also highlights his ability to consistently connect for home runs. This efficiency, combined with his well-rounded skill set, makes him a truly unique and exciting player to watch.