Two MVP baseball players created World Baseball Classic history Saturday night in Miami when they hit consecutive leadoff home runs in the same game. Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. accomplished something that had never been done before in tournament play.
MIAMI — Baseball history was made Saturday night when two superstar players launched back-to-back leadoff home runs during a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal matchup, marking the first time this feat has occurred in tournament play.
Ronald Acuña Jr. wasted no time getting his team on the scoreboard, connecting on just the second delivery from World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Atlanta Braves outfielder sent a fastball soaring 401 feet into right-center field for his second tournament home run.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning, crushing a 2-1 slider from Ranger Suárez that traveled 427 feet to center field. The ball rocketed off Ohtani’s bat at 113.6 mph, prompting the Los Angeles Dodgers star to admire his work before flipping his bat and gesturing enthusiastically toward his teammates in the dugout. The blast evened the score at 1-1 for the defending tournament champions and marked Ohtani’s third WBC home run.
According to Elias Sports Bureau records, no regular season or playoff game has ever featured leadoff home runs hit by two MVP award winners in the same contest.
The 31-year-old Ohtani brings impressive credentials to the tournament, having earned four MVP awards while helping guide the Dodgers to their last two World Series championships.
Acuña, 28, captured the 2023 National League MVP honor and was instrumental in the Braves’ 2021 World Series victory.
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