Ohtani’s 44‑game streak

Shohei Ohtani reached base in his 44th straight Major League Baseball game on Friday, setting a record for Japanese-born players. (mlb.com) The Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter pushed the streak to 44 with a fifth-inning single against Texas Rangers right-hander Kumar Rocker on April 10 at Dodger Stadium. Ichiro Suzuki had held the previous mark at 43 games, set with the Seattle Mariners in 2009. (espn.com) The streak began on August 24, 2025, and carried through Ohtani’s first 13 games of the 2026 season. Through April 10, he had reached base in every game this year while posting a.406 on-base percentage. (nbcsports.com) (espn.com) An on-base streak counts any game in which a hitter gets to first or beyond without making an out first every time up. Hits, walks and hit-by-pitches all keep it alive, which is why Ohtani’s walk Friday mattered as much as his single. (mlb.com) (espn.com) The record adds another line to Ohtani’s growing list of milestones tied to Japanese players in the majors. In 2024, he also passed Ichiro’s single-season stolen-base mark for a Japanese-born player when he stole 59 bases, topping Ichiro’s 56 from 2001. (espn.com) For the Dodgers, the run also fits into franchise history. Ohtani’s 44-game streak is the sixth-longest on-base streak by a Dodger in the modern era, and Major League Baseball said he moved within range of Duke Snider’s club record of 58 games from 1954. (cbssports.com) Friday’s record came in an 8-7 Dodgers win that ended on Max Muncy’s third home run of the night. Ohtani’s milestone arrived in the middle of a game better known locally for the walk-off finish. (ocregister.com) Suzuki, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, has long been the standard for Japanese position players in the majors. Ohtani, now 31, is steadily taking over more of those statistical markers while doing it as a two-way star. (baseballhall.org) (mainichi.jp) The streak will keep getting measured one game at a time, the way these runs always are. For now, the number attached to Ohtani is 44, and in this category no Japanese-born player in Major League Baseball has gone longer. (mlb.com)