Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits late-game grand slam to join MLB’s 40-40 club in record time

Shohei Ohtani has made history once again.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar became the fastest player in major league history to join the 40-40 club on Friday, doing so in spectacular fashion with a grand slam to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-3.

It seemed like Ohtani wouldn’t get another at-bat in the game unless the game went to extra innings with a 3-3 tie. But Will Smith led off the bottom of the ninth by getting hit by a pitch and Tommy Edman followed with a single. After a sacrifice bunt by Miguel Rojas and a groundout by Gavin Lux, Max Muncy replaced Enrique Hernandez as the pinch hitter and drew a walk to load the bases and bring Ohtani to the plate.

Rays reliever Manuel Rodriguez had no choice but to throw to Ohtani with the bases loaded. On his first pitch, he threw an 84 mph slider over the plate and Ohtani crushed it to center field.

Ohtani got his 40th stolen base in the fourth inning, stealing second base after a leadoff single off Tyler Alexander and putting him one swing away from joining an exclusive club.

The two-time MVP entered Friday’s game with 39 home runs and 39 stolen bases this season. He joined the 30-30 club earlier this month in the Dodgers’ 10-0 win over the Oakland Athletics, making him the third-fastest player in league history to reach that mark. He did it in 108 games, one shy of Alex Rodriguez’s record set in 1998 with the Seattle Mariners and 18 shy of Eric Davis, who did it in 90 games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1987.

Ohtani is now the sixth player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season. Ronald Acuña Jr. reached that milestone last season, stealing an incredible 60 bases. Alfonso Soriano, Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and José Canseco are the other players in the 40/40 club.

All five players had to wait until late September to achieve the feat. Soriano was the previous fastest player to do so, on Sept. 16, 2006. Ohtani is nearly a month ahead of that pace.

Ohtani is hitting .292 with a .992 OPS to go along with his 40 home runs this season, his first with the Dodgers. He leads the National League in home runs, trailing only New York Yankees star Aaron Judge, who hit his 49th homer of the season Friday. Only Cincinnati Reds star Elly De La Cruz has stolen more bases this year, with 60.

Although he’s still recovering from elbow surgery that kept him sidelined this year, Ohtani has shown an incredible ability to earn the National League MVP award this season. His latest performance only adds to this campaign, with more than a month left in the regular season.