Los Angeles Dodgers leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani belts a solo homer in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies on July 7, 2026, at Dodger Stadium. (©KYODO)
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani belted the 300th home run of his MLB career on Tuesday, July 7, becoming the first Japanese player to reach the milestone.
In the first inning, Ohtani hit a 125-meter (409-foot) leadoff homer over the center-field fence off Colorado Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen. The landmark blast came on a 2-0 sinker.
It was the Iwate Prefecture native's 20th homer of the season (his seventh leadoff blast of 2026).
The Rockies beat the Dodgers 4-3 at Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani, who led the National League with 54 homers in 2024 and clubbed a career-high 55 in '25, reached 300 MLB homers in his 4,050th at-bat in his 1,102nd game.
Before joining the Dodgers in the winter of 2023, Ohtani, now 32, also showcased his power-hitting prowess in the American League. He led the Junior Circuit with 44 homers in 2023, his final season with the Los Angeles Angels. In 2021, he smacked 46 round-trippers for the Angels.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts believes Ohtani will reach additional home-run milestones in the years to come.
"He just had a birthday … still young, still strong, so I definitely think 500 [homers] is in his future," Roberts was quoted as saying by Kyodo News.
Shohei Ohtani Reaches Another Milestone
With his leadoff blast on Tuesday, Ohtani became the 170th player in MLB history with 300 homers.
In April 2024, Ohtani became the career leader for homers among Japanese MLB players, moving past Hideki Matsui, with his 176th homer coming against the New York Mets.
Matsui played his final MLB game in 2012.
Ichiro Suzuki retired in 2019 with 117 homers in the big leagues.
Only four players in MLB history reached 300 homers in fewer games than Shohei Ohtani: New York Yankees star Aaron Judge (2016-present, 955 games), Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner (1946-55, 1,087 games), Ryan Howard (2004-16, 1,093 games) and Juan Gonzalez (1989-2005, 1,096 games).
Based on his impressive skills as a slugger, expect Ohtani to remain one of MLB's premier power hitters for years to come.
"We're always talking about the 500 club," Roberts said, referring to 500 career homers, according to the Los Angeles Times. "And so for him to get to 300, given some of the time that he's missed with the surgeries, it's been pretty dang quick for me."
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Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed's [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
