Shohei Ohtani breaks Japanese MLB home run record with No. 176
The Los Angeles Dodgers' superstar passes Hideki Matsui for most career homers in the majors by a Japanese player with a two-run shot against the New York Mets.
Baseball Softball
It's official: Shohei Ohtani is Japan's best power hitter of all time.
The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger belted his 176th career home run on Sunday (21 April), the most-ever by a Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball.
Ohtani, 29, tied Hideki Matsui's mark of 175 on 12 April but had gone quiet since. On Sunday, he blasted a two-run homer in the third inning of the Dodgers' 10-0 win over the New York Mets, his fifth of the season.
"I'm really happy about this," Ohtani told reporters after the matinee at Dodger Stadium. "It's been a little while since the last home run and I've been wanting to hit it so I'm glad I got it done today. It's both relief and joy.
"I only found out recently how many (Matsui) actually hit. But yes, it had been a goal of mine and I wanted to get it done.
"I personally plan on hitting a lot more."
The $700 million (USD) man accomplished the feat in his seventh year in the bigs. Ohtani also had a base hit on Sunday, and now leads the majors with a .368 clip.
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