This year, 2026, Shohei Ohtani's low home run count has become a major topic of discussion in both Japan and the US. In 2024, Ohtani hit a league-leading 54 home runs, and in 2025, he hit a career-high 55 home runs, ranking second in the league. It's fair to say that everyone recognized Ohtani as a hitter capable of hitting many home runs. However, as of the end of May 2026, Ohtani’s home run count is only 10. If he continues at this pace, he will finish the season with 27

This is a sequel to my last column. In my last column, I wrote about my personal analysis of the “rankings in eight batting categories.” Every year, I research each player’s league ranking in eight batting categories: hits, walks, home runs, runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. I believe that players who achieve the top five in the league in all eight categories can be considered the best hitters in MLB. This is merely one example of wha

I’ ve been steadily conducting various analyses of Major League Baseball records for a long time, but they’ re all based on my own personal preferences. One of these analyses is the “rankings in eight batting categories.” Each year, I examine each player’ s league ranking in eight categories: hits, walks, home runs, runs, RBIs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. It’ s difficult to achieve high rankings in all eight categories. For example, a player

After the 2008 season ended, I was sorting through various records and noticed something unusual. It was something unusual with regard to...