Only Cincinnati Reds' Elly De La Cruz had more stolen bases than Shohei Ohtani in 2024. The Reds infielder had 67 stolen bases while the LA Dodgers slugger had 59 stolen bases on top of 54 homers, making him the only player in MLB history to enter the 50-50 club.
Ohtani is known for his power but this year, he explored the facet of a slugger is base stealing. Interestingly, Ohtani stole more bases in 2024 than in the previous three seasons combined. So far he has 145 career stolen bases.
On Tuesday, MLB shared a list of the top 10 active stolen base leaders. Starling Marte leads the list with 354 stolen bases, followed by José Altuve with 315 and Trea Turner with 279. The rest of the list includes players like José Ramírez (243), Andrew McCutchen (219), Whit Merrifield (218), Mike Trout (212), Jean Segura (211), Christian Yelich (205) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (196).
Fans shared their thoughts and reactions to the list in the comments section of the post on Instagram. Most fans thought that given the seasons both Ohtani and De La Cruz had, the list would soon see new names on it.
"Shohei is comin for you all," one fan commented.
"Wait for Elly!" another wrote.
"How many Othani stole this year ? I think those guys are in trouble," another added.
"Elly De La Cruz going to be on top with this stat," another said.
"reminder elly has 102 and has played less than 2 full seasons," another wrote.
"Here comes elly," another posted.
Shohei Ohtani's historic season ends with World Series
When the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal last offseason, they knew they were getting an MVP-caliber two-way superstar. Though Ohtani didn't contribute with pitching since he was recovering from elbow surgery he had in Sept. 2023, even as a DH, Ohtani more than made up.
Ohtani, who hadn't played in even one postseason game despite being in the league for six years, finally made the postseason with the Dodgers, winning the NL West. With him at the helm of the batting lineup, it was tough for pitchers to get by. And that's exactly what happened as the Dodgers only needed five games to take down the ALCS champions, the New York Yankees.
To place cherry on the top, Ohtani was crowned with his third unanimous MVP.