Could Shohei Ohtani still reach 62 home runs?
After New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge set the American League home run with 62 in 2022, few could've imagined a player could equal that feat the following year while throwing over 100 innings on the mound. But Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani is on pace to do just that.
In a season where nothing seems impossible for Ohtani, the two-way dynamo leads the league with 39 home runs, and if all goes well, he could very well join or surpass Judge in the record books. Compared to Judge's pace, Ohtani is a bit behind at this point in the schedule. However, as August approaches, Ohtani is beginning to heat up.
On Friday, Ohtani homered against the Toronto Blue Jays, giving him three long balls over the last two days alone. And, after a 1-for-18 slump early in July, Ohtani has gotten hot again throughout the rest of the month, recording eight homers and 13 RBI over the next 15 games.
Ohtani added another historic mark to his robust resume on Thursday, becoming the first player in baseball history to pitch a shutout in the first game of a doubleheader while homering in the second. And, as Ohtani is prone to do, it went big, homering not once but twice.
While Ohtani continues to astound, seemingly on a daily basis, another remarkable accomplishment could be on the horizon. If Ohtani can reach the magical number of 62 homers, he'd be only the second AL player ever to hit 62 or more home runs and only the fifth player in MLB history, joining Judge, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.
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