Throughout his career, Shohei Ohtani has raised the bar and altered our perception of what is even possible in baseball. He has now established a new benchmark for MLB Japanese slugging proficiency.

In the third inning of the Dodgers’ 10-0 victory on Sunday, Ohtani faced right-hander Adrian Houser of the Mets and hit a 0-1 slider left over the center of the plate to record his 176th career home run, snapping a tie with Hideki Matsui for the most by a Major Leaguer of Japanese descent. With an exit velocity of 110 mph and a projected distance of 423 feet into Dodger Stadium’s Right Field Pavilion, the blast was an unquestionable hit.

Through interpreter Will Ireton, Ohtani expressed his happiness and relief. “Since my last home run, it took me a while to get this point, so just happy and relieved.”

Between April 13 when Ohtani tied Matsui and April 27, when he broke the record, it took seven games. Nevertheless, he was quite successful during that time, going 11-for-29 with three doubles and six walks. After Sunday’s home run, Ohtani reached base twice more. In the fifth, he added a single that took a pitch off Houser’s left foot. In the sixth, he worked a walk, and in the eighth, he was lifted for a pinch hitter.

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Through an interpreter, Matsui described Ohtani as “just a great player” due to his presence and skill on the field. “On my end, the figures are simply not comparable. There are undoubtedly a lot of admirers who have high hopes for what he may achieve. Personally, all I can wish for is that he continues to be well.”

Ohtani’s MLB top ten home homers

Now that Ohtani is the only person with the MLB home run record who was born in Japan, the issue is how many more home runs he will add. The 29-year-old is playing a scorching 2024 thus far in the first year of his record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract.

With 35 hits and 11 doubles, he leads the Major League in hitting, and his slash line of.368/.431/.663 puts him in position to have one of his greatest offensive seasons to date. These figures eclipse his consensus 23 AL MVP season (albeit, in contrast to previous year, Ohtani won’t be pitching in 24 due to recovering from surgery on his right elbow).

But for the time being, Ohtani will relish a momentous occasion that holds special personal significance for him.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Hideki Matsui, “He was a great ballplayer, great home run hitter, and world champion.” “I also know that Shohei thought highly of him. It is therefore significant for him to surpass that mark. And I am aware that Shohei is attempting to eliminate any mark that is in front of him.

A player’s most HRs who was born in each nation

Roberts actually owns one of those marks. Ohtani currently trails Roberts by just two home runs after surpassing Hideo Nomo with his fifth home run of the season. Ohtani is the second-most home run scorer of Japanese-born players in Dodgers history.

“My goal is to surpass my manager’s record,” grinned Ohtani.

Ohtani’s home run proved to be the sparkplug for a much-needed offensive explosion that helped Los Angeles avoid their first-ever sweep of the season and wrap up a difficult homestand with a win.

With the exception of James Outman, all nine of the Dodgers’ starters—five of whom had at least one hit—reached base at least once. Both No. 3 prospect Andy Pages and Freddie Freeman recorded multihit games, with Pages capping an eight-run surge in the fifth with his first-career home run.

Additionally, it helped right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who recorded eight scoreless innings to record his best start as a Dodger.

About Ohtani’s record, Glasnow said, “It’s awesome.” He will undoubtedly have many more records while I’m performing here. He’s a very talented player.