As the MLB postseason nears, there are a couple storylines that have the baseball world eager to see the end of the season. 

The battle for the final spot on the National League wild card picture between the Braves and the Mets heats up along with  Shohei Ohtani’s quest to be the first player to have a 50/50 season in Major League Baseball history. 

Ohtani is currently sitting at 48 homers and 48 stolen bases with 11 regular games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. There have been players that had either 50 home runs or 50 stolen bases, but never both at the same time. In Tom Verducci’s Sports Illustrated article published in 2024, Why Shohei Ohtani’s Quest for 50–50 Isn’t Just Another Number, he explains that  “Willie Mays went 51–24 in 1955 and Alex Rodriguez went 54–24 in 2007.” 

This is the second year in a row that a player is breaking a historic record. Last year was the historic 40/70 season which was completed by Atlanta Braves Most Valuable Player, Ronald Acuna Jr. 

What’s even more impressive about Ohtani’s season is that he is still in the process of recovering from his second Tommy John surgery, which took place at the end of the 2023 season. There is  pressure when  playing for the Dodgers that  he did not have when he was playing for the Angels.

In Matt Snyder’s article on the CBS Sports website, 2024, Snyder’s Soapbox: Shohei Ohtani’s run at first 50-50 season in MLB history is as special as it gets, Snyder says, “once he reaches the 50-50 club, not only will he be the first to ever do it in a season, but, via my colleague Mike Axisa, ‘he’ll be only the third player with a 50-homer season and a 50-steal season at any point in his career.’ Only Bonds (73 homers in 2001, 52 steals in 1990) and Brady Anderson (50 homers in 1996, 53 steals in 1992) have done it.”

Ohtani will most likely break the record before the end of the regular season. This  leads us to the real question: could he do this again since there is a strong possibility that he will be back to being a two-way player next year? 

 Being an Angels fan, I know that Shohei has the capability to hit 50 home runs as a pitcher and hitter. Last year, he did have 44 home runs around this time before his season ended with the arm injury. However, will he be able to steal 50 stolen bases? 

Ohtani and the Dodgers have remaining series against the Marlins (Sept. 17-19), Rockies (Sept. 20-22; Sept. 27-29) and Padres (Sept. 24-26).