The only pitch that Shohei Ohtani saw in his at bat in the fifth inning could not have been any more in his wheelhouse. Adam Oller’s 92 MPH sinker sat right in the center of the plate and the middle of the strike zone. It was as though the ball was placed on a tee for the Los Angeles Angels superstar.
Ohtani certainly did not miss that pitch. He launched it to dead center, a two run blast for his seventh homer of the year. That blast was also the 100th of his career, making him the third Japanese player in MLB history to reach that milestone.
Shohei Ohtani joins pair of Japanese legends with 100th homer
That blast allowed Ohtani to join a pair of legends in the 100 homer club. Only Ichiro (117 homers) and Hideki Matsui (175 homers) had been able to hit at least 100 homers in the majors. Ohtani has reached that mark in far less plate appearances and it is just a matter of time before he overtakes both players on that list.
Ohtani also joined another interesting list in MLB history. He has the second most pitching strikeouts of anyone to have hit 100 homers in the majors, his 268 strikeouts trailing only Babe Ruth’s 501 strikeouts on the mound. It is just a matter of time before he overtakes Ruth on the pitching side as well.
This is just the most recent example of how much of a unicorn Ohtani is in major league history. He is not just one of the most dangerous hitters in their lineup, but also the ace of their staff. There are plenty of other milestones and accomplishments that he will reach before his major league career comes to an end, with this just being the latest one that he has reached.
Shohei Ohtani became the third Japanese player to reach the 100 homer mark in the majors. He is not even close to being done with his accomplishments.