Los Angeles Dodgers Superstar Shohei Ohtani Makes More MLB History

Picture this: You’re sitting in Dodger Stadium, probably paying $15 for a hot dog, watching the Dodgers face the Milwaukee Brewers in a crucial playoff game. The tension is thick enough to cut with a butter knife. Then Ohtani takes the mound in the top of the first and proceeds to strike out the side like he’s playing catch with his little nephew. Three up, three down, three strikeouts. Business as usual for baseball’s most ridiculous human being.

But here’s where it gets absolutely bonkers – instead of heading to the dugout to grab some sunflower seeds like a normal pitcher, Ohtani grabs his bat and walks to the plate as the leadoff hitter. Apparently, dominating on the mound wasn’t enough entertainment for one inning.

Making History Look Easy

What happened next will make your grandfather question everything he thought he knew about baseball. Ohtani launched a 446-foot missile off Jose Quintana that probably needed a passport to land. This wasn’t just any home run – this was the first leadoff homer by a pitcher in MLB history, regular season or postseason. Let that marinate for a second. In over 150 years of professional baseball, nobody had ever done this before.

The baseball gods must have a twisted sense of humor, because this bomb came exactly one year to the day after Ohtani hit a leadoff homer in Game 4 of the 2024 NLCS. Against the same pitcher. Quintana is probably having nightmares about October 17th at this point.

Breaking Out Of His Slump In Style

Here’s the thing that makes this even more incredible – Ohtani had been struggling at the plate during this playoff run. He entered the game hitting a measly .103 since the start of the NLDS, which for Ohtani is like LeBron James shooting 30% from the free-throw line. It just doesn’t compute.

The man was so frustrated with his hitting that he took batting practice before Game 3 and launched a ball onto the Dodger Stadium roof. When you’re Ohtani and you’re slumping, apparently your idea of “working things out” involves hitting baseballs into orbit during practice.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

This moonshot marked Ohtani’s third career postseason leadoff homer, tying him with Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins for second-most in history. Only Kyle Schwarber has more with five, but let’s be honest – Schwarber never struck out the side before going yard.

With this blast, Ohtani now has 115 home runs between regular season and playoffs, which sounds impressive until you remember this guy also throws 100-mph fastballs for a living.

Why This Matters For Baseball

This isn’t just another highlight reel moment – it is a reminder that we’re witnessing something that might never happen again. Ohtani is operating on a different plane of existence, doing things that make seasoned baseball writers run out of adjectives.

The fact that no pitcher in baseball history had ever hit a leadoff homer before Ohtani makes you wonder what other “impossible” records this guy is going to shatter. At this rate, he will probably throw a no-hitter while simultaneously hitting for the cycle.