BOSTON -- With one big swing on Friday night at Fenway Park, Kazuma Okamoto broke Shohei Ohtani’s rookie record for the most home runs by a Japanese-born player, with 23.
The Statcast-projected 408-foot shot to straightaway center finally got the Blue Jays on the board in the seventh inning in an eventual 6-4 loss to the Red Sox. In a quiet season for the lowest-scoring offense in Major League Baseball, Okamoto has been one of the lone bright spots.
Any day your name lands in the same sentence as Ohtani’s is a good one, and even though Okamoto has downplayed any milestone, his respect for his fellow Japanese star is clear. The two have also played together in the World Baseball Classic, representing their country.
“It’s just a number,” Okamoto said through interpreter Yusuke Oshima when he tied the record just prior to the All-Star break. “As you all know, Shohei is an awesome player. He’s a unicorn. To be able to match that record is obviously awesome. I want to do my best so that I can get closer to his level.”
Okamoto doesn’t hit cheap ones, either. There are no wall-scrapers and no batted-ball luck in this new Japanese rookie record, and while Okamoto has certainly struggled with strikeouts at times, his power has been undeniable. The Blue Jays’ offense has been searching for answers anywhere and everywhere, but power has been one of this group’s biggest shortcomings, making Okamoto’s presence all the more important.
Still in the first year of his four-year, $60 million deal, Okamoto was one of the Blue Jays’ best moves this past offseason and has handled the move to Major League Baseball admirably. The record is all his for now, but this race isn’t over.
Munetaka Murakami of the White Sox has hit 20 in fewer games after spending some time on the IL, and he has remarkable power to match Okamoto’s if this turns into a race down the stretch.