Somehow, Shohei Ohtani continues to make history. Joe DiMaggio will go down as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but Ohtani is on his heels to break yet another record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are confident that Ohtani will return to the mound soon, but he has once again proven that he’s worth his contract alone just with his bat.

Shohei Ohtani Inches Closer to Joe DiMaggio’s 1937-41 Record

Having spent his entire MLB career with the New York Yankees, DiMaggio won an astonishing nine World Series. He was a 13-time All-Star, and his No. 5 will remain retired within the Yankees organization. With a career batting average of .325, DiMaggio was the first person with five straight 30-homer, five-triple seasons.

Ohtani is the first player with five triples and 20 homers since his former teammate, Mike Trout, did it from 2012-16. Ohtani has proven to be superhuman throughout his MLB career so far, as he inches closer to breaking a nearly 100-year-old record. Yankees star, Aaron Judge, is also on pace to do so, but his record is for total bases.

Already in 2025, Ohtani has hit 23 homers and five triples. He hasn’t hit for fewer than 30 home runs since 2020. After a career-high 54 home runs one season ago, Ohtani’s OPS has remained above 1.000 in his last three seasons. The shortened 2020 campaign was the lone season where Ohtani didn’t record a triple. Since 2021, he’s hit six or more every year.

DiMaggio’s record will still stay in place for a couple of years as ESPN’s reporter, Alden González was just making everyone aware of how well Ohtani has been doing. The league hasn’t seen a streak like this since 1941. González’s post came on the heels of Ohtani recording a triple in the team’s 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres, his first triple since May 7. So far in June, Ohtani has just one triple and one home run.

When Ohtani returns to the mound, it’ll be interesting to see if it affects his hitting at all. He hasn’t pitched at all yet in a Dodgers uniform, but the two-way sensation had no issues playing both ways during his time with the Los Angeles Angels.

At this point in the season, Ohtani is in the top one percent of baseball in six different categories. His Exit Velocity, Max EV, XSLG, XWOBA, XWOBACON, and HardHit% all place him as one of, if not the best hitter in baseball. It’s hard to say as Aaron Judge is currently hitting .394, but Ohtani and Judge could once again both win MVP in 2025.