Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani Gets 1,000th Career MLB Hit with HR vs. Cardinals on Video

Shohei Ohtani reached another milestone in his storied career, collecting his 1,000th career hit on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar made his milestone moment count by hitting a two-run homer off Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore in the bottom of the third inning.

Ohtani was also on the mound for this game and had his best start of the season. The three-time MVP struck out eight and allowed one run on two hits in four innings.

It marked the first time since August 2023 that Ohtani has pitched into the fourth inning.

Ohtani reached 1,000 career hits in 973 games as a hitter. This is the second major offensive milestone he has reached in 2025. He became the fastest player in MLB history with at least 250 homers and 150 stolen bases, needing just 944 games.

Entering play on Wednesday, Ohtani had the sixth-highest at-bat-per-home-run ratio in MLB history (13.53). He ranks third among active players, behind Aaron Judge (11.2) and Kyle Schwarber (13.45).

More than one quarter of Ohtani's 1,000 hits have been homers (264). Nearly 50 percent of all his hits have gone for extra bases (489).

Even in a season where the Dodgers have had some lower moments than anticipated, whether it's due to poor performances or injuries, Ohtani has been a steady rock and helped lead them to first place in the NL West.

Ohtani is having another MVP-caliber season, though there is more competition in the NL than he faced in 2024. His combined 5.4 FanGraphs' wins above replacement between hitting (4.9) and pitching (0.5) ranks second among all NL players, trailing only Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (5.7).

The Cubs and Dodgers entered Wednesday with identical 66-48 records, so the MVP race figures to come down to the wire. Ohtani is seeking to join Barry Bonds (2001 to '04) as the only players in MLB history to win the award in three consecutive seasons.