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Shohei Ohtani Makes Splash With 54th Home Run, Hears MVP Chants on the Road

Ohtani sent a baseball for a dip in Arizona as his campaign for a second straight National League MVP continues.

Tim Capurso

Ohtani became the first player in Dodgers history to have back-to-back 50-home run seasons.
Ohtani became the first player in Dodgers history to have back-to-back 50-home run seasons. / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
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Shohei Ohtani continued his convincing campaign for a second straight National League MVP award by hitting his 54th home run of the season in style against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

In the top of the fourth inning with one on and one out, Ohtani belted a 1-1 changeup deep into right center and straight into the pool beyond the outfield wall at Chase Field. It was the Arizona equivalent of a splash home run, and Ohtani's 54th of the season, tying his own 2024 record for the most long balls in a single season in Dodgers history.

But the homer also led to something unlikely: Ohtani received MVP chants in Arizona.

Admittedly, a lot of those chants are coming from Dodgers fans who made the trip to Arizona in the hopes of seeing Los Angeles clinch the NL West title, which they can do with a win over the Diamondbacks. But it's still impressive to hear MVP chants on the road for a visiting player, regardless of the circumstances.

Ohtani leads the NL in OPS, ranks second in home runs and has racked up 62 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched, recording a sparkling 2.87 ERA in his return to the mound in 2025. Ohtani, along with Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, is among the favorites to take home the NL MVP. Should he go on to win it, Ohtani will have been an MVP in four of the past five seasons between his time with the Dodgers and Angels.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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