The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani a gigantic 10-year, $700 million contract this past offseason. Even though he hasn’t pitched at all in Year 1, the superstar has lived up to the hype with an absolutely amazing season at the plate. Last Friday night, he reached the 40/40 club in dramatic fashion with a walk-off grand slam:
Ohtani stole his 40th base earlier in that same game, and the home run put him in exclusive company with Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2023) as the only players to have 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in the same season.
None of those players had the combination of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in their memorable seasons, but can Ohtani become the first player ever to reach that level in a single season? DraftKings Sportsbook has a special market giving bettors a chance to back Ohtani to reach this historic milestone. A testament to how amazing his season has been: Ohtani is only +165 to do what no other player in the history of MLB has done.
After hitting the 40/40 mark on Friday, Ohtani did not attempt a steal on Saturday or Sunday. He did hit another home run, though, so he starts this week with 41 homers and 40 stolen bases.
Ohtani’s pacing
Ohtani has played 148 games this season, with the potential to play 31 more before the end of the season. Based on his per-game pace, he would finish with 50.9 homers and 49.6 stolen bases, so it feels like this could come right down to the wire.
What makes me lean towards “Yes” as my pick is Ohtani and the Dodgers are being pushed to the wire in the division. He probably won’t take many games off and will continue to be aggressive on the basepaths. As the season has gone on, he has become more active on the bases, with 17 of his stolen bases coming in his 34 games since the All-Star break. Since he only needs 10 more in his next 30 games, maintaining his post-All-Star break rate he would allow him to achieve this significant milestone.
Hitter-friendly parks
His schedule is also favorable for good power numbers down the stretch. He plays 15 home games (22 of his 41 homers have come at home), and he also has four-game sets in Arizona and Atlanta at homer-friendly ballparks. He finishes the season with three games in the rarified air of Coors Field. So even if it takes him to the last weekend, I like his path toward the pursuit of 50 dingers.
The risk of injury is always a concern with a future-type play. For those who don’t think Ohtani can get it done, there’s this SPECIALS market bet allows bettors to take the other side, as well.
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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