Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the first player to join the 50/50 club

CNN
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Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani etched his name in Major League Baseball history on Thursday when he became the first member of the 50-50 club in a game against the Miami Marlins.

A 50-50 season consists of 50+ home runs and 50+ stolen bases in a single season.

Ohtani, the fastest player to hit 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season, hit his 50th home run of the season early in the seventh inning after stealing his 50th and 51st bases earlier in the game.

The Japanese two-way sensation hit 6-of-6 and 10 RBIs in the game, giving the Dodgers a 14-3 lead with his historic home run. Incredibly, he hit another home run in his next at-bat in the 9th inning, giving him three home runs for the game. The Japanese superstar put his name in the record books in incredible fashion, hitting two doubles, a single, three home runs and stealing a base – one of the best offensive performances of any player this season.

For Ohtani, this was the first game of his career with three home runs and the first with ten RBIs.

The Dodgers eventually won the game 20-4 against Miami and secured a spot in the playoffs.

The closest to the 50-50 mark were Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, who stole 73 bases and hit 41 home runs in 2023, and Alex Rodriguez, who hit 42 home runs and stole 46 bases as a member of the Seattle Mariners in 1998.

Ohtani was the Angels' star as both a hitter and a pitcher for six seasons, twice winning the American League's Most Valuable Player Award. This past offseason, he signed a historic 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.

This historic achievement comes after Ohtani had a personally rocky start to his time in Los Angeles. His longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, pleaded guilty in court in June to fraud and tax evasion for stealing nearly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger to pay off gambling debts. The revelation came just hours after Ohtani made his debut in a Dodger uniform in the season-opening game in South Korea.

After the revelation of Mizuhara's gambling addiction, speculation about Ohtani swirled for weeks as questions were raised about what the superstar knew and when he knew it. Ohtani – and Mizuhara himself – insisted he knew nothing about his friend and interpreter's gambling addiction and theft. When Mizuhara pleaded guilty, Ohtani said he had come to terms with this sad revelation.

“This has been an exceptionally challenging time, so I am especially grateful for my support team – my family, my agent, my agency, my lawyers and advisors, and the entire Dodger organization who have shown endless support throughout this process. It's time to close this chapter, move on and stay focused on playing and winning ball games,” he said in a statement.

The Japanese star is the favorite to win the NL MVP award despite not being able to pitch this season due to offseason elbow surgery. He has hit 50 home runs and a .293 batting average this season and has led the Dodgers to a 91-62 record, good for first place in the NL West division.

With the win against Miami, the Dodgers have secured a playoff spot and Ohtani will have his first chance to shine in October. During his time as an Angel, Ohtani's teams never reached the postseason.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.