Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani sets homer record for Japanese rookie

Step aside Kenji Johjima. Los Angeles Angels slugger Shohei Ohtani has taken the crown, setting a record for the most homers in a season by a Japanese rookie.

With one swing of the bat on Friday night, Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Ohtani made history.

Prior to top of the third inning against the White Sox, Ohtani had been tied with former Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima for the most homers by a Japanese rookie. He turned on Carlos Rodon‘s inside fastball, belting the ball to deep center field, where it went over the wall just beyond a leaping Adam Engel.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

This blast is just another milestone in what has been a fabulous rookie campaign. Despite his impending Tommy John surgery, Ohtani has continued to be a force with the bat. In just 284 plate appearances, Ohtani has produced a stellar .287/.367/.586 batting line, hitting 19 homers and stealing seven bases. Conversely, it took Johjima 542 plate appearances to hit his 18 homers.

It is also interesting that Johjima held the record before Ohtani. He was not much of a home run hitter in the majors, with only 48 career homers and a swing that was tailored more towards a gap to gap approach. Even in Japan, he only hit 20 or more homes five times in his 14 seasons of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Players like Kosuke Fukudome and Hideki Matsui were also impressive power hitters in Japan. Only Matsui was able to see that power translate at the major league level however, with five seasons of 20 or more homers in the majors. Yet, even he had a power outage in his rookie campaign, with just 16 homers in his 695 plate appearances in 2003.

Shohei Ohtani has set a record for the most homers by a Japanese rookie. That may not be the only record the Los Angeles Angels slugger sets over his career.