”It just felt like Shohei Ohtani was gonna hit a homer every time" – Jack Flaherty on witnessing Dodgers star's historic 50-50 season
Jack Flaherty joined the LA Dodgers in the back half of what amounted to a historic season for Shohei Ohtani. The starting pitcher was a trade deadline acquisition, but he had a front-row seat to what Ohtani eventually did in hitting 50 home runs and stealing 50 bases. No one had ever done it before.
Ohtani ended up getting into and establishing this rare club with ease, as he hit 54 home runs and stole 59 bases. It was a historic season that was reached with a six-for-six, three-homer, two-stolen base game. He added 10 RBI in that matchup for good measure.
On a podcast hosted by Keyshawn Johnson, a former NFL player, Flaherty said of his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate's historic pursuit (0:20):
"So, Shohei hit a walk-off grand slam home run to make it 40/40. Everyone who saw it was like, without a doubt, this is the highlight of the year! That happened in August and we were like, 'Wait, he's got a shot for 50/50!'"
He continued, adding that Ohtani was "so hot" that everyone thought he would easily break 50 steals. The former Detroit Tigers ace went on:
"So I checked the schedule and saw that Colorado was at the end of the schedule, so I thought maybe I could make it. But every time he was up to bat, I felt like something special was happening, like he was hitting a home run every time."
Flaherty went six innings in that game as the starter vs. the Miami Marlins, so he had the best view of what Ohtani was doing.
Jack Flaherty shares 'incredible' Shohei Ohtani moment from 2024
Jack Flaherty joined the LA Dodgers in August, so he got onto the eventual World Series winner and became teammates with Shohei Ohtani. The pitcher revealed that a particular moment against Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland thoroughly impressed him.
He said via Fox Sports:
"He took a pitch that was up and in, left-on-left, and he hit it out to left-center. And he hit it about 10 rows deep into left-center, which you don't do as a left-handed hitter at all, and then we all went and watched exactly where the pitch was. Then we saw it was two balls above the zone, and he hit it out, and we were like, 'That's not normal.'"
He continued:
"And they had watched him all year and been with him, and everybody was still like, ‘Wow, that was incredible. ... He's as cool, calm and collected as they come.’"
Flaherty is now a free agent and may or may not be back with Ohtani and the Dodgers next season.