Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani achieves feat that not even Babe Ruth accomplished

By Ernesto Cova | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 9:22 AM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani continues to make history almost every time he sets foot on the diamond.

In 2024, Ohtani became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season. Now, he's taken things up a notch with his latest milestone.

Shohei Ohtani creates new 50-50 club

Ohtani tossed five scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, striking out five batters to bring his season total to 54 punchouts. Then, batting leadoff in the bottom of the eighth inning, he hit his 50th homer of the season.

Shohei Ohtani crushes his 50th HR after throwing 5 no-hit innings earlier! pic.twitter.com/P3NfvGXp0c
— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2025

With that, the Japanese phenom became the first player to hit 50 home runs and log 50 strikeouts in the same season, something not even the legendary Babe Ruth accomplished.

Ohtani's efforts weren't enough to prevent his team from losing 9-6, but that didn't spoil the party.

The fact that Ohtani has been so dominant on the mound after undergoing two separate Tommy John surgeries is remarkable, and watching him log 54 strikeouts in 41 innings of work is even more impressive.

He's got a 1-1 record with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP, all while leading the league in runs scored (136), slugging percentage (.611), OPS (1.006), OPS+ (177) and total bases (349), per Baseball Reference.

Baseball has never seen anything like this before, and if he keeps this up, Ohtani could be on his way to unanimously securing his fourth MVP Award.

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto is a bilingual (English-Spanish) sports writer with over eight years of experience covering major leagues such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Ernesto’s work focuses on providing insightful, up-to-date coverage of sports, blending his expertise in sports psychology with a passion for analyzing player performance, team dynamics, and trade developments across various sports leagues

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