Ohtani among quickest in history to reach 30-30 milestone

Shohei Ohtani seems to pull off a new historic feat every year, and he's done it again. Ohtani just joined the 30-30 club for the first time -- reaching 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season -- and the Dodgers superstar was one of the fastest players to do it all time.

Ohtani, who already had 33 home runs, stole his 29th, 30th and 31st bases of 2024 on Saturday night's 10-0 rout of the A’s to become the first player to join the 30-30 club this season.

"Obviously, he wasn't going to be a pitcher this year," manager Dave Roberts said. "He was really focusing with [vice president of player performance] Brandon McDaniel and his staff, and keeping his body in a good spot to use his legs. He was really excited about being able to run free. You obviously knew he was going to hit homers."

It was Ohtani's 108th game played this year.

That makes Ohtani the third-fastest player in AL/NL history to record a 30-30 season (going by the player's number of games played when he reached the milestone). Eric Davis for the Reds in 1987 was fastest in history to reach the milestone, doing so in 90 games.

Ohtani fell just short of Alex Rodriguez’s feat as a Mariner in 1998, when he reached 30-30 in 107 games.

Fastest players to 30 HR and 30 SB in a season
AL/NL history
1. Eric Davis, 1987 Reds -- 90 games played
2. Alex Rodriguez, 1998 Mariners -- 107 games played
3. Shohei Ohtani, 2024 Dodgers -- 108 games played
4. Bobby Bonds, 1973 Giants -- 108 games played
5. Jose Canseco, 1988 A's -- 110 games played

Ohtani is the third Dodgers player to join the 30-30 club, and it's Los Angeles' fourth total 30-30 season as a franchise. Matt Kemp was the most recent Dodger with a 30-30 season, in 2011, and Raul Mondesi had two, in 1997 and '99.

While Ohtani posted two 40-20 seasons previously -- he had 46 homers and 26 steals in 2021, and 44 homers and 20 steals in 2023 -- he had yet to go 30-30.

"He and [first-base coach] Clayton McCullough have a very good relationship, and so there's a lot of trust between those two as far as tendencies and pitchers and things like that," Roberts said. "[Aaron] Judge is certainly having a tremendous year, but Shohei … as far as the foot speed, what he can do offensively, he's one of one."

Now that he has, Ohtani still has plenty of time to potentially reach the next great power-speed milestone this season: 40-40. The 40-40 club has only five members -- Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), A-Rod (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006) and Ronald Acu?a Jr. (2023).

No Dodger has had a 40-40 season, although Kemp was just a homer shy of the feat in 2011. Not only does Ohtani have nearly two months to get it done, but his skipper thinks it may have been a goal from the beginning of his tenure with L.A.

"I do think 40-40 is something that was on his radar from Spring Training," Roberts said.