Shohei Ohtani breaks Ichiro Suzuki's MLB on-base streak record for Japanese players

His statue’s bat wasn’t the only thing Ichiro Suzuki had broken on Friday.

With a single in the fifth inning of game against the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani extended his on-base streak to 44 games. That breaks a record previously held by the Seattle Mariners legend for the longest on-base streak by a Japanese-born player.

Advertisement

He got there on one of his three bobblehead nights with the Dodgers this season, after four last year.

The streak is also the longest active streak in MLB, and more than halfway to the all-time record of 84 games set by Ted Williams in 1949. He is 14 away from the Dodgers record held by Duke Snider, with 58.

Ohtani’s streak dates back to Aug. 23, 2025, when he went 0-for-4 against the San Diego Padres, he has reached base ever game since then, while winning a second straight World Series title in between.

Funnily enough, he’s reached base in every game this season and is still on pace to post his worst OPS since 2022, the only year since 2020 he hasn’t won an MVP award.

Ohtani also entered Friday as the MLB leader in ERA among qualified pitchers, having not allowed an earned run in 12 innings across two starters. He will lose that title Saturday when he loses qualified eligibility, but can regain it in his next start next week.

Advertisement

It probably bears repeating: the player with the longest on-base streak in the majors is also the best pitcher in the majors by ERA. It is a sentence that should be impossible, and yet it’s just another day as the 2026 season begins for the defending champion Dodgers.