Shohei Ohtani ties Ichiro Suzuki's on-base streak to match yet another MLB record Ohtani has now been on base at least once in 43 straight games, tying Ichiro for the record for Japan-born players
By Matt Snyder Apr 9, 2026 at 11:34 am ET • 1 min read 
Getty Images Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani has already had plenty of milestones in his career and he'll continue to pile them up, to the point that people might become numb to seeing him make history. On Wednesday in Toronto, he drew a leadoff walk to start the game, marking the 43rd consecutive regular-season game that he got on base.
This ties Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki for the longest such streak from a player born in Japan. Ohtani will have a chance to break the record Friday in Dodger Stadium against the Rangers with Kumar Rocker starting for the visitors.
Hitting streaks have long been held up as a very impressive feat in Major League Baseball and pretty much every baseball fan of a certain age knows the number for Joe DiMaggio's record of 56. The on-base streak isn't quite as revered since, for a long time, walks were merely blamed on the pitcher and largely ignored in stat discussions (hence batting average long being known as the important rate stat instead of on-base percentage). Drawing walks helps the offense, though, and getting on base means not making outs. Every base runner counts, no matter how he got there.
The MLB record is nearly double where Ohtani sits right now, as Ted Williams once got on base in 84 consecutive games.
For now, Ohtani is tied with Ichiro for the record for a player born in Japan and is tied for eighth-longest in Dodgers history. Here's the Dodgers' leaderboard for on-base streaks:
1. Fielder Jones, 70 games, 1899 2. Duke Snider, 58, 1954 3. Shawn Green, 53, 2000 4. Willie Keeler, 50, 1900-01 5. Ron Cey, 47, 1975-76 t6. Len Koenecke, 44, 1934 t6. Zack Wheat, 44, 1919-20 t8. Augie Galan, 43, 1945 t8. Shohei Ohtani, 43, 2025-26
He has a long way to go to get to Jones and then Teddy Ballgame, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Ohtani get much closer. This is what he does. He makes history.
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