Shohei Ohtani ties MLB home run record by Japanese player with blast No. 175
The Los Angeles Dodgers' superstar tied Hideki Matsui for most career homers in the major leagues with a solo shot against the San Diego Padres.
Baseball Softball
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani slugged his 175th career home run on Friday (12 April), tying Hideki Matsui for the major league record by a Japanese player.
A night after his name was cleared in the federal probe of his ex-interpreter Ippei Mizuhara’s gambling scandal, Ohtani homered in his first at-bat against the San Diego Padres, a solo shot to left for his fourth round-tripper of the season.
He also had two doubles as the Dodgers lost 8-7 in 11 innings, giving him a career 1,001 hits in the US and Japan combined.
"I’m genuinely happy," Ohtani told reporters at Dodger Stadium. "Not just personally but I think it means a lot for all of Japanese baseball."
The 29-year-old tied former New York Yankee Matsui, who appeared in 1,236 games over a 10-year MLB career. Ohtani reached the milestone in his seventh season stateside, in 731 games. Future Hall-of-Famer Ichiro Suzuki, never a power hitter, is a distant third on the list with 117 homers.
Ohtani said he was flattered to be in Matsui's company although it appears to be a matter of time before he singlehandedly owns the record at the rate he's currently raking in.
Ohtani is batting .353 with a 1.098 OPS, 13 RBIs and nine runs scored. He leads the majors in hits, extra-base hits and doubles.
"Growing up, he’s someone I watched as a power hitter in Japan. I’m very grateful to be sharing the record with someone I looked up to and as a fellow left-handed hitter," Ohtani said of Matsui.
"I obviously knew about the record but the way I approach it, I’m always thinking about the next home run. So after I hit one, it’s important for me to think about the next one."
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