Shohei Ohtani caps off historic week with another monster home run
Every week it seems like Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani is doing something that has not been done in decades (or ever).
This past week proved to be no different.
Ohtani hit his Major League-leading 24th home run of the season on Sunday in a 5-2 win over the Kansas City Royals, capping off a historic week in which he posted a set of numbers that have not been accomplished by any player since the 1957 season.
Those numbers, via Angels PR man Matt Birch:
Any time you are doing something that has not been done since Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle achieved the feat, chances are, it is something incredibly impressive.
It is even more impressive when you consider the fact that Ohtani -- as mentioned by Birch -- also added in a strong pitching performance against the Texas Rangers (highest scoring team in baseball) to pair with those offensive numbers.
This is third consecutive year in which Ohtani has dominated baseball as a dual-threat player and it never ceases to amaze when he does things like this.
His home run on Sunday also gave him eight long balls over his past 10 games.
Ohtani's 24 total home runs are two more than New York Mets star Pete Alonso has swatted this season. Those two players are the only two players in the majors that have hit more than 20 home runs this year.
The Angels star is on a 54-homer pace over 162 games. His career-high is 46 home runs, from his MVP season in 2021. As great as he has been the last two years, the 2023 season looks like it might be shaping up to be his best in the majors both offensively and as a pitcher. That is perfect timing for Ohtani, who is set to hit free agency in the fall.
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