Shohei Ohtani became the Japanese man with the most home runs in the Major Leagues this Sunday. Now, Ohtani already has the next mark in his goal: to be the Japanese with the most home runs in the Dodgers.
The record for most home runs by a Japanese in the Los Angeles franchise belongs to Dave Robert, current manager of the Dodgers.
Roberts hit seven home runs in three seasons with the team. The former player had 273 hits in 302 games wearing a Dodgers uniform from 2002 to 2004.
Shohei Ohtani hit his fifth home run of the season this Sunday, so he will only have to hit three more this season to surpass his leader.
“He told me he’s coming for me now,” Dave Roberts joked about an exchange that occurred after Shohei Ohtani’s home run to beat Hideki Matsui.
“It was a great streak. He surpassed Hideki Matsui who was a great player, World Series champion. I know Shohei admires him, from what I saw in the documentary about him. Breaking that mark is a great achievement and I know that any mark that is above Shohei, he will look to break it,” said Dave Roberts after the victory against the Mets.
Shohei Ohtani happy to continue hitting home runs with the Dodgers
The Japanese hit a home run that went 423 feet into right field for his third home run at Dodger Stadium this season.
Ohtani said he expects there to be a lot of home runs at Dodger Stadium for the remainder of the season.
“There were a lot of fans in the stands and I’ve only hit a few for Dodger fans. I’m looking forward to hitting hundreds more for Dodger fans,” said the Japanese slugger.
Ohtani has a .368 batting average with 35 hits, 5 home runs, 13 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 24 games this season.. He also has an OPS of 1.064.
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– Shohei Ohtani becomes the Japanese with the most home runs in MLB, leaving behind Hideki Matsui
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