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MLB Superstar Achieves Feat Not Seen Since Willie Mays Pulled It Off in 1954

June 27, 2025

L.A. Dodger Shohei Ohtani keeps carving his way into baseball history.

The three-time MVP is already holder of the biggest contract ever signed in sports and has snapped a record held by pitching legend Nolan Ryan, among other feats.

And with a home run on Thursday, he notched a mid-season record that hasn’t been seen in the game since the Say Hey Kid roamed the outfield for the New York Giants seven decades ago.

Batting in the seventh inning against the woeful Colorado Rockies, in Colorado’s home-run friendly Coors Field, Ohtani blasted a solo home run into the Dodgers bullpen.

Shohei Ohtani blasts his 28th home run of the season! pic.twitter.com/bjNaerGq1f

— MLB (@MLB) June 26, 2025

With the Dodgers up 2-1 at the time, the homer provided an insurance run for L.A.’s eventual victory. But it did something else, Fox News reported.

With it, Ohtani became the first player to have 28 home runs and six triples at the 80-game mark since Willie Mays in 1954.

The @Dodgers‘ Shohei Ohtani has 28 home runs and six triples through his first 80 games this season.

The last MLB player to reach those marks through 80 games of a campaign was Willie Mays in 1954. pic.twitter.com/qjUONppTUd

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 27, 2025

Americans outside of California might have had their fill of Los Angeles lately.

Between the fires that devastated so much of the city in January and the rioting of earlier this month that led President Donald Trump to send in the National Guard — over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom — as well as Marines, there’s been simply too much bad news coming out of the City of Angels in 2025.

And the Dodgers themselves have contributed their part to the national fatigue (if not disgust) with all things L.A.

But for many, Ohtani is different.

Do you watch baseball?

Sure, Thursday’s game was against the Rockies — cellar-dwellers of the National League West with only 18 wins against 63 losses (including Thursday’s).

And sure, Ohtani’s homer came at Coors Field in Denver, the Mile High City, where altitude and thin air make batters’ dreams come true.

But the fact remains it was Ohtani at the bat, and it was Ohtani who sent that ball out of the park for the National League West-leading Dodgers. And it’s Ohtani’s career that continues to capture the nation’s attention.