Watch: Dodgers celebrate Shohei Ohtani joining historic 40-40 club with a hilarious Gatorade shower
Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani made headlines on Friday, etching his name in the history books after a walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ohtani registered his 40th stolen base of the season in the fourth inning at Dodger Stadium and came in clutch with a bases-clearing four-run homer in the ninth to help the Dodgers to a 7-3 win.
He became the first Dodgers player to reach the 40-40 club (40 stolen bases & 40 home runs). To celebrate his feat, several of his Dodgers teammates drenched Ohtani with Gatorade during his post-game interview with sideline reporter Kirsten Watson.
The Japanese superstar became only the sixth player in MLB history to join the 40-40 club. Furthermore, he is the fastest player to achieve the feat, reaching the milestone in just 126 games, breaking Nationals' Alfonso Soriano's record of 148 games in 2006.
The only other players to achieve the feat are, Ronald Acuna Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco.
Talking about his remarkable achievement, which provides his NL MVP candidacy another boost, Ohtani said:
“It was one of my most memorable moments, hopefully I can make more memorable moments. I’m extremely honored I’m part of this history. …. It means a tremendous amount me doing it in front of the home crowd.’’
Shohei Ohtani has his eyes on the ultimate prize
While Ohtani's grand slam helped create history, the two-time MVP was more pleased for it being the winning hit for his club. He said he is focused on achieving his team's goals of making a deep run into the postseason, with his eyes firmly set on the World Series (via USAToday.com):
“The number one goal is to get to the postseason and win the World Series,” Ohtani said. “Whatever the outcome is for my record, that’s part of the process.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was in awe of the superstar slugger, who has added another dimension to his game with his base stealing. Roberts also dabbled in the obvious comparison with AL MVP contender Aaron Judge, who added a 49th home run to his MLB-leading tally on Friday (via APNews.com):
“He’s an elite base stealer with a high success rate,” Roberts said. “I’m sure there’ll be more dramatics to come. I just don’t see anyone any better, obviously Judge is in the conversation, but man, I’d take Shohei."
The Dodgers will be in action again for the second game of the three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.