Los Angeles Angels two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani recorded his 20th stolen base of the season on Saturday night against the San Diego Padres. By doing so, Ohtani joined a special class of players to accomplish the feat at all, let alone before the start of September.
Ohtani, who entered the night with 41 home runs, is just the third American League player in history to record a 40-20 season before September 1, according to STATS. The other players who have pulled off that trick were Álex Rodríguez in 2007 and Ken Griffey Jr. in 1999.
It's worth noting that Rodríguez won the AL Most Valuable Player Award that fall. Griffey, conversely, finished 10th in voting. Ohtani appears to be the favorite to win the AL MVP Award despite the Angels' so-so record for an obvious reason: he's doing this as a hitter while also pitching at a high level.