An umpire may have been the unsung hero during Shohei Ohtani’s iconic moment earlier this week.
On Thursday, Ohtani became the founding member of the 50/50 club. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar became the first player in MLB history to record at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season.
In the 7th inning of the Dodgers’ contest against the Miami Marlins, Ohtani blasted a 1-2 curveball to the seats in left-center field to achieve the feat.
Home plate umpire Dan Iassogna was able to read the room.
Here's a detail from Ohtani's 50-50 moment that went largely unnoticed. pic.twitter.com/NpiMyF4THI
— Todd Munson (@themunson) September 20, 2024
The veteran umpire did everything possible to let Ohtani and the fans savor the moment.
Iassogna dusted what appeared to be a clean plate before casually chatting with the ball boy. Then he outright waved off a pitch clock violation to prevent the Dodgers from getting penalized for enjoying the milestone.
Umpires often draw a lot of flak when they make mistakes — and some mistakes this season have been egregious. But they also deserve credit where credit is due.
