Shohei Ohtani Achieves Historic 50-50 Milestone with Superhuman Steals and Remarkable Propulsion Secrets

Humanity’s first “50-50”

Finally, Shohei Ohtani (30) has achieved a remarkable feat! On September 20, Japan time, he played as the first batter and designated hitter in the game against the Marlins. He hit two home runs and successfully stole two bases, achieving “50-50” (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases). This is, of course, a “world-first” achievement.

“I’m not really thinking about it too much. I just want to make sure I advance bases when I have the chance. Even if it’s not a stolen base but a tag-up, I always want to have the awareness to advance.”

Ohtani, who hit his 46th home run in the game against the Guardians on September 9, humbly responded when asked by reporters about achieving humanity’s first “50-50.”

While Ohtani is often noted for his powerful home runs, his stolen bases are also superhuman (the following statistics are as of September 11).

“Out of 51 stolen base attempts, he has only failed four times. His success rate exceeds 92%. Ichiro, who won the stolen base title in 2001 with 56 steals, had a success rate of 80%. Alex Rodriguez, who achieved ’42-46′ in 1998, had a success rate of 78%. This shows just how high Ohtani’s stolen base accuracy is,” said a sports newspaper reporter.

What is the excellence of Ohtani’s base running? Takashi Kawamura, a specialist in motion analysis and a professor in the School of Physical Education at Tsukuba University, says:

“Ohtani’s stolen bases rarely involve him being safe by a hair’s breadth. He is comfortably advancing to the next base. Not only does he master being a two-way player and understand the psychology and movements of pitchers, but he also has detailed data on the opponents’ pitching patterns in his head.”

Let’s listen to Professor Kawamura’s explanation while looking at sequential photographs.

(1) Forward-leaning posture from the left foot to the head in a straight line

“The key to the start in 1 is to begin in a low forward-leaning posture. For a tall player like Ohtani, who is 193 cm, it can be challenging to maintain balance between the upper and lower body, often leading to a forward-leaning position that can disrupt form. However, Ohtani seems to have strong hip joints. He is achieving an ideal start with a forward-leaning posture that is straight from the left foot to the head.”

 

 

(2) Targeting the next base in a low posture

(3) Moving both arms without using the shoulder blades

(4) The position of the head remains almost steady

It is said that Ohtani’s exceptional abilities can be seen from 2 to 4.

“When running, many people try to lift their knees to increase the movement of their legs. However, if the up-and-down movement becomes too intense, it disrupts their form. Additionally, baseball players are accustomed to throwing the ball, which tends to engage the shoulder blades. This also negatively affects base running because moving the shoulders causes lateral swaying in the body. Ohtani minimizes the up-and-down movement while maintaining a low posture (2). He runs using only the vertical movement of his arms without engaging the shoulder blades (3). Because his form remains intact, the position of his head hardly changes (4).”

According to Professor Kawamura, Ohtani’s running form has significantly improved since last season. This season, as he focuses on being a hitter, he has often been reported training for base running with an emphasis on stolen bases during spring camp.

 

 

(5) Putting hands on the ground is a concern

“Ohtani averages about 11 steps before sliding. Typically, it’s 14 to 15 steps. The size of his stride is one of the advantages. The only concern is his tendency to put his left hand on the ground while sliding (5). This could be a factor in injuring his arm due to the momentum when sliding on the ground. Other than that, his base running is perfect, generating astonishing propulsion.”

Even the unprecedented “50-50” was considered a “natural result” for Ohtani. One wonders how far the challenges of this man who achieved this “world-first” feat will continue.

 

From the September 27 and October 4, 2024 issue of ‘FRIDAY.’