Ohtani this season ranks second in MLB with 31 home runs and he’s tied for fourth with 25 stolen bases

Shohei Ohtani stole his 25th base of the season on Friday in Houston, one day after the Dodgers designated hitter hit his 31st home run of the season in Los Angeles. Ohtani is second in the majors in home runs and tied for fourth in steals.

Ohtani has just the eighth Dodgers season with at least 25 home runs and 25 steals, and the first since Matt Kemp hit 39 homers and stole 40 bases in 2011. Ohtani is on pace this year for 48 home runs and 39 steals.

In the majors this year, Ohtani is the first 25-25 player. The only other player with a 20-20 season so far is Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, with his 22 home runs and 20 steals.

Jay Jaffe at FanGraps looked into the potential Hall of Fame credentials for current major league players, and within he recognized the uniqueness of Ohtani.

“Some day, Hall of Fame voters will have to reckon with Ohtani,” Jaffe wrote. “I’m already of the mind that if he’s still pulling double duty in his 10th season (2027), he’ll have my vote regardless of what the numbers say, because what he’s doing is remarkable.

Elieser Hernández, who pitched in five games for the Dodgers this season, including one start, signed last Sunday with the LG Twins in Korea for a deal worth $440,000 over the season, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO noted.

Hernández was outrighted by the Dodgers but rejected the assignment to become a free agent on June 7, then signed with the Brewers and pitched four games in relief for Milwaukee but was designated for assignment two weeks later.

MLB Network this week unveiled direct-to-consumer access to the channel, with no cable subscription required, by itself for $5.99 per month or paired with MLB At Bat (audio of every MLB game) for $6.99 per month. But most notably, subscribers to MLBtv will have access to MLB Network as part of the subscription through the remainder of the 2024 season.