Shohei Ohtani Inside-the-Park Home Run
Illustration: WhyTrend

On May 17, 2026, Shohei Ohtani hit a ball down the right-field line that bounced oddly off the fence. Right fielder Jo Adell's throw went astray, and Ohtani — already running hard — never stopped, crossing home plate to complete a full trip around the bases. Video captured by SportsNetLA spread instantly across Japanese social media, with fans celebrating what looked like the first inside-the-park home run of Ohtani's MLB career.

The celebration was short-lived. After a lengthy review, the official scorer ruled the play a triple plus an error charged to Adell. Under MLB scoring rules, an inside-the-park home run requires the batter to reach home safely without the benefit of a fielding error. Because Adell's misplay was deemed the reason Ohtani scored, the home run credit was denied. Ohtani was credited with two RBIs and a triple — a meaningful contribution, but not the historic milestone fans had hoped for.

Sports Hochi's MLB beat reporter Kota Ando broke the official ruling on X, writing: 'Inside-the-park HR? Not quite — the record is triple + error (RF Adell). The hit and 2 RBIs are official.' His post was widely shared and became the definitive source for fans trying to understand the call.

The debate was amplified by a separate incident earlier the same morning: a Japanese sports news app briefly displayed Munetaka Murakami's (Chicago White Sox) home run as an 'inside-the-park HR' before correcting the error. The back-to-back incidents made 'inside-the-park home run' one of the most-searched baseball terms in Japan that day.

What to watch next: Ohtani's season stats — .242 average, 7 home runs, 19 RBIs, OPS .815 — show a player trending upward after a slow stretch. Fans are watching closely to see whether a legitimate inside-the-park homer, or a more conventional power surge, arrives in the coming weeks.