WBSC Premier12 legend Shohei Ohtani hit his 176th career home run, a two-run shot off New York Mets right-hander Adrian Houser in the third inning of the game played at Dodgers Stadium on Sunday, 21 April. The homer broke the tie with Hideki Matsui for most MLB home runs by a Japanese-born player.
"I'm relieved and happy," Ohtani told MLB.com through interpreter Will Ireton. "I took a while to get this point since my last homer, so I'm just honestly happy and relieved."
It was Ohtani's fifth home run of the 2024 season. He went 2-for-3 and scored two runs, helping the Dodgers beat the Mets 10-0. He leads MLB with 25 hits and 11 doubles. He has a .368 batting average, a .431 on-base percentage, and a .663 slugging average. He is on pace to repeat his 2023 unanimous MVP campaign.
He reached 176 home runs over 725 games and 2,578 at-bats.
Matsui hit 175 home runs over 1,236 games and 4,442 at-bats.
"The numbers on my end are just not comparable," commented Matsui through an interpreter. "I'm sure many of the fans have their expectations as far as what he may do and what he may accomplish. As far as myself, my hope is just that he stays healthy."
