LOS ANGELES -- As Shohei Ohtani has redefined what is possible in baseball, he's rewritten record books along the way, for the franchises he's played for and the Major Leagues at large.
He also continues to set himself apart as one of the greatest players from Japan to have played at this level of the game.
Ohtani passed Ichiro Suzuki for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player when he reached in his 44th straight game in Friday night's series opener against the Rangers -- which also marked his first bobblehead night of the season, commemorating his unreal two-way performance in Game 4 of last year's NL Championship Series.
With a fifth-inning single off Kumar Rocker, Ohtani set the on-base record for Japanese-born players, which also happens to be the longest active streak in the Majors.
The last time Ohtani did not reach base in a regular-season game was Aug. 23 of last year. Since then, he's played at least a small role for the offense in every game that's followed.
Usually, what he does isn't so small at all.
Ohtani holds several other notable records among his countrymen who have played in the Majors. He was the first Japanese player to hit for the cycle with the Angels in 2019. In 2024, his first year with the Dodgers, he passed Hideki Matsui for the most career home runs (283 and counting) and Ichiro for the most stolen bases in a single season (59).