Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers has finally hit his 48th homer of this season. With this homer, Ohtani became the star of the most homeruns in Asian major leaguers ever, surpassing Choo Shin-soo. Attention was also drawn to the star who picked up Ohtani's 48th homerun ball of this season.

Ohtani started as the first designated hitter in an away game against the Miami Marlins in the 2024 U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 18th (Korea time), and played one hit in five at-bats (one home run) with one run and two RBIs.안전놀이터

Ohtani's home run came in the top of the third inning when the Dodgers were trailing 0-4. One out and one out. Ohtani hit a fastball of 82.2 miles (132.3 kilometers) in the third pitch against Miami starter Darren McCurhan to hit a big two-run shot over the right-center fence. It was the moment Ohtani hit his 48th home run of the season. Ohtani also tasted a home run on the 6th after the game against the Chicago Cubs on the 12th. According to the Major League's official website MLB.com Game Day broadcast, the launch angle was 32 degrees, the batting speed was 105.3 miles (169.4 kilometers), and the flying distance was 402 feet (123 meters).

It was Ohtani's 219th career big league home run since his debut in the Major League in the 2018 season. With this, Ohtani has risen to first place in the category, surpassing Choo Shin-soo (218 home runs), who previously holds the record for the most home runs in the Asian major leagues. Choo Shin-soo hit a total of 218 home runs in 16 seasons in the Major League from 2006, and Ohtani hit 219 in just seven seasons. Ohtani, who hit 22 home runs in the 2018 season, hit 18 in the 2019 season and seven in the 2020 season, which was a shortened season due to COVID-19. He then hit 46 home runs in the 2021 season, 34 in the 2022 season, and 44 in the 2023 season, respectively.

Ohtani, who has 48 homers and 48 stolen bases this season, has two homers and two stolen bases to achieve the long-awaited goal of 50 homers and 50 steals. According to Japanese media including Full Count and Chunichi Sports, the man who picked up Ohtani's home run ball on the day was Jenna Vanderbisen (19), a junior at university. Vanderbisen was sitting on the second floor of the right outfield seats watching the game. And luckily, she even got Ohtani's home run ball.

"I'm so nervous. I'm so excited. It was really nice to see Ohtani in person," he said in an interview. "People around me say it's worth 1 million dollars, but I will never sell this ball. I think it's something special that money can't value." On the moment Ohtani caught his 48th home run ball, he said, "As soon as everyone was focused on the ball, I caught the ball that hit the wall and bounced off. What is the probability of catching this ball? I don't know. It's like a dream."

After the game, Ohtani played 148 games and had a batting average of 0.287 (169 hits in 588 at-bats), 32 doubles, seven triples, 110 RBIs, 119 runs, 77 walks, 156 strikeouts, 48 steals (four failed), and an on-base percentage of 0.372 on-base plus slugging percentage of 0.983. With 11 games left for the Dodgers, will Ohtani be able to achieve a great achievement of 50 homers and 50 steals.