How Shohei Ohtani (50 SB as a DH!) has transformed MLB again - ESPN

Shohei Ohtani usually sits at the end of the Los Angeles Dodgers' bench closest to home plate, far from first-base coach Clayton McCullough, who likes to lean against the railing on the other side. But Ohtani will regularly walk the full length of the Dodger Stadium dugout, tablet in hand, and tap McCullough on his back. «Look at this,» Ohtani will say, and then he'll reveal his latest finding — a new pattern to help him determine when an opposing pitcher might attempt a pickoff or begin his delivery. A shift of his weight. A tilt of his head. A twitch of his glove. Anything to provide the slightest edge for another stolen base.

These interactions have taken place countless times as Ohtani marched toward 50 stolen bases this season, a milestone he reached in the early stages of a dominant performance that solidified a 50/50 season on Thursday. To McCullough, they capture Ohtani's intuition and reveal how much he cares about the nuances of baserunning.

They also speak to what makes him unique.

Designated hitters are traditionally among the slowest players on a team. And before Ohtani, no full-time DH had ever so much as sniffed 40 stolen bases, let alone 50. The previous leader was Paul Molitor, who stole 31 in 1992, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Ohtani — who became the first 50/50 (and first 51/51) player in baseball history with a six-hit, three-homer game in a 14-3 rout of the lowly Miami Marlins — has tapped into another realm of singularity by taking advantage of a circumstance provided to those who solely hit. While his teammates are on defense, Ohtani is often plotting his next steal.

«It's not an accident that he's gotten here,» said McCullough, who runs the Dodgers' baserunning program. «This guy puts in