Los Angeles Dodgers Superstar Shohei Ohtani Scoring Runs at Historic Pace

Shohei Ohtani leads the National League with 91 runs at the MLB All-Star break, placing the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger in the same company as Hall of Fame first baseman Jimmie Foxx.
San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) greets San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (right) before batting during the first inning at Oracle Park.
San Francisco, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani (17) greets San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey (right) before batting during the first inning at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

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The goal of baseball is, put simply, to score more runs than your opponent.

That alone makes Shohei Ohtani one of the most valuable players in baseball, to say nothing of his two-way talents or off-the-field stardom.

That Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter leads MLB with 91 runs through 95 games in 2025, on top of leading the National League with 32 home runs, 224 total bases and a .988 OPS. Ohtani also led MLB with 134 runs last year, en route to winning NL MVP honors.

Ohtani's runs have come in bunches, as well, as he has scored multiple runs in 27 games so far this season. According to OptaSTATS, that is good for the most a player has ever had entering the All-Star break.

The 31-year-old has scored multiple runs in 28.4% of his games so far this season, which puts him on pace for the highest percentage since World War II, minimum 50 games played. Hall of Fame first baseman Jimmie Foxx was the last player to post a percentage that high with a 29.8% mark.

Ohtani owns a 4.3 WAR heading into the second half of the season, thanks to his production at the plate plus his 1.00 ERA, 0.778 WHIP and 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings through five outings on the mound.

The 10-year, $700 million contract the Dodgers gave Ohtani seems to be paying off and then some, especially considering Los Angeles is once again leading the NL West midway through July. If Ohtani can string together another historic statistical campaign, or if the club can cash in with another World Series title this fall, it will continue to be money well-spent.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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