In 2024, Shohei Ohtani successfully stole an astonishing 59 bases.

That total ranked second in the National League behind Elly De La Cruz of the Reds, who stole 67.

However, when measured by how much those stolen bases actually contributed to winning, Ohtani ranked comfortably first.

The difference was efficiency.

While De La Cruz succeeded 67 times, he was also caught stealing 16 times.

Ohtani, meanwhile, was caught only four times in 63 attempts.

His stolen-base success rate of .937 was extraordinary.

Before joining the Dodgers, Ohtani had always been an aggressive baserunner with the Angels, but he was not necessarily considered an elite base stealer.

His career success rate with the Angels was only 72.3%, which was below the commonly accepted break-even point of roughly 75%.

In other words, despite his athleticism, stolen bases had not always been a clear advantage for his team.

That changed dramatically in 2024.

By pushing his success rate above 93%, Ohtani transformed his running game into a true weapon.

Explaining his philosophy on stealing bases, Ohtani said:

“If you’re confident you can be safe at a high rate, then you should go for it. I think you should always try to take one more base whenever possible. Rather than attempting a huge number of steals and piling up total successes, I think it’s better to attempt a reasonable number and maintain a very high success rate.”

That mindset reflects how Ohtani approaches baseball as a whole.

For him, aggression alone is not enough.

Every decision must contribute to winning efficiently.

With Ohtani expected to return as a pitcher in 2025 — and after suffering a shoulder dislocation during the 2024 World Series — his stolen-base attempts will likely become more limited.

Even so, his philosophy will probably remain the same:

take risks only when they meaningfully improve the team’s chances to win.

Source

This quote comes from a Japanese book published in Japan and is not currently available in English.

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