Shohei Ohtani's name has become borderline synonymous with "making history." Every step of his MLB career has been littered with accolades from being the most dominant (and, really, only) two-way player to winning multiple MVP awards. Even now, as he is unable to pitch during his recovery from a 2023 surgery, Ohtani is on the verge of potentially becoming the first pure DH to win an MVP.
And there is another accolade looming on the horizon, one that could cement his case as 2024 NL MVP. Ohtani could conceivably become the first player in MLB history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in the same season.
And yes, you can bet on this. Of course, you can. Join me as I take a look at the Shohei Ohtani odds for whether or not the Unicorn will be the first member of the 50/50 club below.
Shohei Ohtani odds to join 50/50 Club
Will Shohei Ohtani be the inaugural member of the 50/50 Club?
Odds as of 8-26-24.
My best bet: Yes (+165 at DraftKings)
In 2023, there was a seemingly unending bit of fanfare surrounding Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.'s pursuit of joining the 40/40 club. No player had hit 40 homers and stolen 40 bases in a season since Alfonso Soriano did it in 2006. Acuna hit his 40th homer of the season on September 22 and played a part in him winning his first MVP.
On Friday, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run and stole his 40th base. He did it in style, too, by clubbing a walk-off grand slam off Rays reliever Colin Poche.
#WALKOFF GRAND SLAM
— MLB (@MLB) August 24, 2024
TO JOIN THE 40-40 CLUB
THERE IS ONLY ONE SHOHEI OHTANI. pic.twitter.com/FksrBJCDSV
Ohtani became the sixth member of the 40/40 Club and the quickest to complete the feat — the other five all took until mid-late September in their respective years. It's unheard of to have this much runway.
Acuna had stolen bases wrapped up way early, but the homers took a longer time to come into focus. Ohtani is relatively even in both the power and speed departments.
And while the odds favor "no" for the 50/50 Club, I'm not so sure. It's never happened before and Ohtani's 40 stolen bases is already more than he's tallied in the last two years combined (31 in 292 games), but he's operating on a different level right now.
With just over a month to play, Ohtani needs nine home runs and 10 stolen bases. He has stolen exactly 12 bases in both July and August. His power has been slightly less prolific (he hit 12 in June, the only time he's hit double-digit dingers in a calendar month this season) this summer.
He's also making it count. Ohtani has nine home runs and 12 stolen bases in 22 August games despite batting .215 for the month. That is incredibly anomalous (he hit no worse than .286 in any other month).
A 50/50 season seems impossible on the surface and if this was even the second week of September, I'd consider the matter closed. But we're getting plus money for Ohtani to make history? Yes, he got his on the wrist by a pitch on Sunday but he stayed in the game and X-rays came back clean, so I wouldn't allow that to be much of a deterrent.
Sign me up.
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Members of MLB's 40/40 Club
| Year Joined | Player |
|---|---|
| 1988 |  Jose Canseco |
| 1996 |  Barry Bonds |
| 1998 |  Alex Rodriguez |
| 2006 |  Alfonso Soriano |
| 2023 |  Ronald Acuna Jr. |
| 2024 |  Shohei Ohtani |
