Los Angeles Angels player Shohei Ohtani has become the first Japanese-born MLB player to hit back-to-back 30 homer seasons. He hit a three-pitch home run in the final of a three-game series against the New York Yankees on Wednesday.
Ohtani smashed a 427-foot homer to center on Yankees starter Gerrit Cole in the bottom of the sixth inning at Angel Stadium. His 30th home run turned a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hits a three-home run, his 30th home run of the season, in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. , August 31, 2022. (Essonne Info)
The reigning American League MVP hit 46 home runs last season, surpassing Hideki Matsui’s 2004 record for long balls in a single season by a Japanese player.
Matsui, who spent seven of his ten MLB seasons with the Yankees, holds the record for most home runs by a Japanese player in MLB with 175, a figure Ohtani tops by just 52.
