Shohei Ohtani Ties a 70-Year-Old MLB Record Nobody Has Touched Since 1955
Seventy years. That is how long Herb Score’s career batting average against record sat completely untouched. The man debuted in 1955, took a line drive to the face in 1957 that cut his career short, and the .199 mark he left behind became one of those numbers nobody ever got close to again. Until Wednesday night.
Shohei Ohtani threw seven shutout innings against the Giants, allowed four hits, struck out eight, and walked off Dodger Stadium with a career batting average against of .199. Tied with Herb Score. Tied with a record that survived every great arm that has touched a major league mound for the last seven decades.
The minimum to even qualify for this leaderboard is 500 innings pitched. That means full careers. That means hitters have had time to study you, expose you, and beat you. Ohtani has gone through all of that while also being one of the most feared hitters in the sport at the same time.
And the rest of his career numbers right now are just as ridiculous. Second all-time in strikeouts per nine innings. Fourth all-time in ERA+. Eighth all-time in WHIP. A 0.82 ERA through seven starts in 2026. Four earned runs allowed all season. The Cy Young voters might as well start writing the announcement now.
The same analysts who spent two weeks calling him washed are very quiet today. The numbers never cared about their takes.
#shohei ohtani #dodgers #mlb
Shohei Ohtani, Ohtani record 1955, Herb Score record, Ohtani batting average against, Ohtani Cy Young 2026, Dodgers 2026, Ohtani Giants, Ohtani pitching history, MLB all time records, Ohtani ERA, Ohtani two way player, Dodgers highlights, MLB records broken, Ohtani strikeouts, baseball history
