Shohei Otani: Don’t worry even if your batting average is low!　He can aim for the “triple crown” and the “top scorer”, which is the proof of his “evolution”.

Amazing pace of scoring runs.

It looks like he will accomplish another feat. Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers (30) has been scoring runs (the number of times he has reached home base as a runner) at a high pace this season.

As of June 26, Japan time, halfway through the 162-game season, Ohtani has accumulated 79 runs scored. His pace of 158 runs scored during the year is much higher than last season’s 134 runs scored, and is the most in the majors this season and the most in the 21st century.

Even Ronald Acuña Jr. (27, Braves), one of the best leadoff men of all time, who won the National League MVP award in 1923 with his first-ever 40-70 record, scored 149 runs that year, and legend Ichiro (51) had a high of 127. The record of legend Ichiro (51) is 127, so you can see how outstanding Ohtani’s record is,” said a sports journalist.

In the history of the Dodgers, founded in 1884, only three players, including Ohtani, have scored 79 runs in the first half of a season. 81 runs were scored by Willie Keeler in 1901, and Ohtani is tied with Babe Herman’s record set in 1930.

What is hidden behind this extraordinary scoring pace? Professional baseball commentator Takahiro Tokitsu answers.

If you hit one home run, you score one run. In fact, the major league record is held by Babe Ruth (177 runs scored) in 1921. He was the original long-distance gun with a two-handed bat and hit 59 homers and exceeded the 50% on-base percentage that year. The title of top scorer cannot be achieved simply by being fast or having the ability to hit long balls,” he said.

According to Dotsu, the evolution of the multiple factors involved in Otani’s ability to score runs this season can also be seen in the number of three-base hits he has made.

He has seven triples in the first half of the season. That ranks second in the National League behind the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll (24, 9), and only three other players besides Ohtani, Babe Ruth in 1921, Lou Gehrig in 1927, and Jimmy Foxx in 1932, had hit 29 home runs and seven triples simultaneously before the All-Star The first two are the first three.

Personally, I think three-base hits are more difficult than home runs. The easiest way to get a three-base hit is to hit a pitch sharply through the right side of the plate. To hit this, you need to be able to hit long balls. The next most important thing is to run the bases from the time the outfielder catches the ball until the ball is returned to third base. Ohtani has input into his head the strength of the outfielder’s shoulders and so on. If he can finish the season without slowing down, he will win the triple crown of the home run, runs scored, and triple crown.

Due to his return to pitching, he has stolen only 11 bases so far, but he makes up for it with his high awareness of the importance of base running. It can be said that Ohtani has now reached the pinnacle of being a leadoff man for the Dodgers.

From the July 18-25, 2025 issue of FRIDAY