Alex Rodriguez takes note of Shohei Ohtani surpassing his iconic 42 HR, 46 SB milestone from 1998
LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani made history in the regular season by becoming the first slugger to have 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. He ended his season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases in what can be regarded as one of the best offensive seasons registered in MLB history.
In August, before the month's last week kick-in, Ohtani surpassed former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's iconic 42 HR, 46 SB milestone he registered in the 1998 season. Rod was playing for the Seattle Mariners that season.
Sarah Langs, in her Aug. 29 post, shared statistics that showed that prior to Ohtani entering the 42-42 club, the highest total a player has reached in both HR and SB was 42, referencing A-Rod's 1998 season.
On Saturday, ahead of the NLDS opener between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, Alex Rodriguez reposted this snap on his Instagram story.
Alex Rodriguez was late to react to this post, as a month later, Shohei Ohtani would isolate his performance, setting a new benchmark in terms of HR and SB total.
Alex Rodriguez once said Shohei Ohtani's $700 million deal was "bad for baseball"
The last MLB offseason saw Shohei Ohtani leave the Los Angeles Angels for a new contract in his free agency. The Dodgers came out on top to sign him amid high demand for the slugger.
Despite him being unavailable to pitch until 2025, the Dodgers went ahead and signed the two-way star to a 10-year, $700 million contract, which was the best contract given to a major league player while it also beats many other professional sports contracts.
Alex Rodriguez, who himself has signed many deals in his major league career and as the head of A-Rod Corp., analyzed his contract while highlighting signs of worry for baseball going forward.
"It is a great deal for the Dodgers. It is a great deal for Ohtani. I believe it's a poor deal for baseball and for 29 other owners," Rodriguez said in Dec. 2023 at the HOPE Global Forum. "The reason why, just to give an example, the Dodgers collect $250 million TV money from cable every year. The [Miami] Marlins collect $15 million. 250 to 15, in the same league.” [via The Messenger].
"You have two teams that make less than Ohtani makes per year. So, Ohtani makes $70 [million], and you have two teams that pay 26 players under $70 [million]. That's not a sustainable model for a business," Rodriguez added.
Alex Rodriguez, while appreciating that the demand for baseball as a whole has increased, said it hurts the competitive balance within the league, especially those teams who have lower revenue.