Shohei Ohtani passes Ichiro Suzuki for another Japanese MLB record
Ohtani has reached base in 44 consecutive regular season games, dating back to last August.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 31: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gestures while standing on first base during the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Sun/Getty Images) | Getty Images LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani has reached base in his last 44 regular season games, setting an MLB record for a player born in Japan, surpassing Ichiro Suzuki, a player he admired while growing up. Ohtani singled in the fourth inning against Kumar Rocker the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, his 13th game in 13 tries this season reaching base by hit, walk, or hit by pitch at least once.
The streak dates back to August 24, 2025, covering his final 31 games of last season. Ichiro’s longest streak in MLB was reaching base 43 games in a row from April 28-June 14, 2009 while with the Seattle Mariners. In 2024, Ohtani’s 59 stolen bases broke Ichiro’s record for most steals in a season by a player born in Japan .
Ichiro’s best steal season was 56, in 2001. Dave Roberts is third on that list, with 49 steals in 2006 with the San Diego Padres. For what it’s worth, Roberts’ best on-base streak was 24 consecutive games , also in 2006.
The caveat here is that streaks like these are regular season only. Last postseason, Ohtani was on base in 15 of 17 games, only failing to reach in Game 3 of the National League Division Series and Game 5 of the World Series. The 44 straight games during the regular season are eight games longer than his previous best streak, which lasted from September 11, 2022 to April 15, 2023 while with the Angels .