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On Sept. 19, 2024, Shohei Ohtani cracked the 50-50 club in style: 6-for-6, 3 home runs, 10 RBI and 2 stolen bases in a historic performance fitting for a historic milestone.
Ohtani was everything the Dodgers could have hoped he'd be in year one of a 10-year, $700 million contract. He finished the season batting .310 with 54 home runs and 130 RBIs and a WAR of 9.2. With a new career high in home runs and RBIs, Ohtani was named the 2024 National League MVP, and come the postseason, he helped lead Los Angeles to their eighth World Series title.
Ohtani is one of the most-talented baseball players on the planet, and arguably baseball history, with the way he's performed both at the plate and on the mound. For him to be the only member of the 50-50 club is just another testament to baseball fans that they've never seen something like him before.
Here's a look at who's in the 50-50 club and where Ohtani's season ranks all-time.
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MLB 50-50 club
Ohtani is the first member of the 50-50 club. No player in MLB history had ever hit 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in the same season, putting the Dodgers star in uncharted territory after he hit his 49th and 50th home runs of the 2024 season.
Ohtani was already the first player to record a 46-46 season, as well as everything above those two marks.
The closest misses before Ohtani can be found in the similarly thin 40/40 club — and they weren't very close at all.
Alex Rodriguez stole 46 bases in 1998 but still finished eight home runs shy of 50 with 42. Alfonso Soriano hit 46 home runs in 2006, but his 41 stolen bases didn't seriously threaten the milestone he needed. In 2023, Ronald Acuña Jr. fell well short of 50 home runs when he finished with 41.
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Shohei Ohtani 2024 stats
| Games | AVG | HR | RBI | SB | OPS | OPS+ |
| 159 | .310 | 54 | 130 | 59 | 1.036 | 187 |
In the 2024 season, Ohtani set career highs in home runs, RBIs, batting average, steals, OPS+ and total bases.
The Dodgers superstar has never stole more than 26 bases in a season before 2024, so his aggressiveness on the basepaths is a newer element of his game. Even last season with the new pickoff rules that helped spark more running, Ohtani stole just 20 bases in 135 games.
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MLB 40-40 club
The 40-40 club is exclusive in itself with only six members, including Ohtani. Here's the full list:
| Player | Team | Season | HRs | SBs |
| Shohei Ohtani | Dodgers | 2024 | 54 | 59 |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | Braves | 2023 | 41 | 73 |
| Alfonso Soriano | Nationals | 2006 | 46 | 41 |
| Alex Rodriguez | Mariners | 1998 | 42 | 46 |
| Barry Bonds | Giants | 1996 | 42 | 40 |
| Jose Canseco | Athletics | 1988 | 42 | 40 |
No player in the 40-40 club came especially close to the 50-50 mark before Ohtani.
Acuña Jr. was the first member of the 40-40 club to have at least 50 in either category, stealing 73 bases in 2023, but he only finished with 41 home runs. Alfonso Soriano, meanwhile, came the closest to 50 home runs out of the group with 46 in 2006, but he only stole 41 bases.
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Best MLB seasons of all time
The following are both true: Ohtani had a historic 2024 season, and two players in the American League had historic ones too.
Using WAR (wins above replacement), that's undeniable. Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. were both solidly ahead of Ohtani come the end of 2024.
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Here's a look at the single-season WAR leaders from MLB history and how Ohtani stacks up in 2024.
| Rank | Player | fWAR | Season | Team |
| 1 | Babe Ruth | 14.7 | 1923 | Yankees |
| 2 | Babe Ruth | 13.7 | 1921 | Yankees |
| 3 | Babe Ruth | 13.1 | 1920 | Yankees |
| 4 | Babe Ruth | 12.9 | 1927 | Yankees |
| 5 | Barry Bonds | 12.7 | 2002 | Giants |
| 6 | Barry Bonds | 12.5 | 2001 | Giants |
| 7 | Lou Gehrig | 12.2 | 1927 | Yankees |
| 8 | Babe Ruth | 11.9 | 1924 | Yankees |
| 9 | Rogers Hornsby | 11.8 | 1924 | Cardinals |
| 10 | Barry Bonds | 11.8 | 2004 | Giants |
| 11 | Babe Ruth | 11.8 | 1926 | Yankees |
| 12 | Honus Wagner | 11.8 | 1908 | Pirates |
| 13 | Pedro Martinez | 11.6 | 1999 | Red Sox |
| 14 | Ted Williams | 11.6 | 1946 | Red Sox |
| 15 | Ted Williams | 11.5 | 1942 | Red Sox |
| 16 | Mickey Mantle | 11.5 | 1956 | Yankees |
| 17 | Ty Cobb | 11.5 | 1917 | Tigers |
| 18 | Mickey Mantle | 11.4 | 1957 | Yankees |
| 19 | Jimmie Foxx | 11.3 | 1932 | Athletics |
| 20 | Carl Yastrzemski | 11.1 | 1967 | Red Sox |
As outstanding as Ohtani has been, his season doesn't rank anywhere near the single-season WAR leaderboard. Ohtani finished with a 9.2 WAR in 2024, which is actually the best non-pitching WAR of his career, but it is impacted by his role as a designated hitter. Without any fielding value, it's tough to crack some of the best seasons of all-time.
Ohtani's highest career WAR came in 2022 when he was with the Angels, when he posted a combined 9.2 WAR with more than half of the total coming as a pitcher. Though, it was the one season that he did not win MVP. Judge posted an 11.1 WAR in his historic 62-home run campaign, giving one of 29 seasons with an fWAR of at least 11.0 in MLB history.
Judge, Witt and Ohtani all had ridiculous 2024 seasons for different reasons, but only one found the 50-50 club.
And he's the only player in MLB history to do so.
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