“That’s a good sign”: Shohei Ohtani opens up on breaking personal record with 55th HR and Dodgers’ postseason hopes

Shohei Ohtani resumed his two-way role for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season and while his hitting was expected to regress with his increased pitching workload, the Japanese phenom set a new personal best this year.

The three-time MVP launched a solo home run in the seventh inning of their final game against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. It was his 55th home run of the season, eclipsing his career-high mark of 54 dingers from last season.

In a conversation with Dodgers reporter Kirsten Watson, Ohtani reflected on what his 55th home run of the season meant for him.

"I just try to stay within myself," Ohtani said. "The fact that I'm hitting more homers gives us an opportunity for the team to win, so that's a good sign. And you know, what's done is done now, so I'm really just looking forward to the postseason."

The reigning NL MVP had a single, double and a home run in his final outing of regular season, missing on the cycle by a triple.

"It's great to be able to beat my personal best," Ohtani said. "I also got three hits, so I'm feeling good going into the postseason. I want to fight as a team until the very end."

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hails Shohei Ohtani's former heading into postseason

While Shohei Ohtani became the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases last season, he made a different 50-50 club this season, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and 50 strikeouts in a season.

"He's in, and has been in, postseason mode," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "His September's been fantastic. At-bat quality, you can see it on the mound, he's got a different look right now. Just not surprised that he eclipsed his own mark. He's had a tremendous season, and we've got a long way to go now."

While the Dodgers have been managing Ohtani's workload, Dave Roberts said the Japanese two-way phenom is expected to start one of their Wild Card games.

"More rest has been good for him. He's responded to that. That's certainly baked in," Roberts said. "But yeah, the thought is he's going to start one of these potential three [Wild Card] games."

Ohtani finished the season one shy of Kyle Schwarber's NL-leading56 home runs. He also posted a 1-1 record with 2a .87 ERA.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash