Baseball followers love an excellent power-speed menace, and people generally love spherical numbers and symmetry. So it’s not arduous to grasp the attraction of the 40-homer, 40-steal season — particularly when you think about the rarity.
The 40-40 Club has solely 4 members, that includes two all-time nice abilities (Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez) and two different dynamic, memorable gamers (Jose Canseco, Alfonso Soriano). And now, right here comes Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Braves proper fielder has an opportunity to make every kind of historical past in 2023 due to a sensational first half, and that probably contains the primary 40-40 marketing campaign in 17 years. With 21 homers and an NL-high 41 steals by way of 89 workforce video games (he is performed in all of them), Acuña is on tempo for a 38-75 end heading into Friday evening’s post-All-Star opener in opposition to the White Sox. That makes him simply the highest candidate to finish the drought this 12 months.
“It’s crazy what he’s doing on a nightly basis,” Braves All-Star first baseman Matt Olson mentioned of Acuña. “He’s by far one of the most talented players, and then he shows up with great energy every day. He’s at the top of our order leading the charge. He sets the tone for us.”
When it involves iconic combos, you’ll be able to’t beat 40-40. Yet another pairings, whereas much less well-known, are extremely spectacular in their very own proper. Just a few may even be harder to achieve. So with that in thoughts, let’s run down the homer-steal seasons it’s best to know, rating them from essentially the most to the least widespread, traditionally. Let’s simply say that 40-40 isn’t the one one in Acuña’s sightline.
And do not forget in regards to the marvelous Shohei Ohtani, who with an MLB-leading 32 homers plus 11 steals on the break — together with, you realize, the entire pitching factor — is on tempo to go 57-20. He could make some extra historical past, too.
30 HR, 30 SB
Done 65 occasions by 43 gamers
Last: Cedric Mullins (BAL), 2021
The 30-30 season is widespread, comparatively talking, with a median of 1.5 gamers reaching that mark per season since 1987. But it’s nonetheless a formidable feat. Of the 43 gamers to handle it, solely 13 have completed so a number of occasions. The most? It’s a tie between Bonds (Barry) and … Bonds (Bobby), with 5 every.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL), Corbin Carroll (AZ)
40 HR, 20 SB
Done 33 occasions by 22 gamers
Last: Shohei Ohtani (LAA) & Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), 2021
Up till Canseco’s 40-40 season in 1988, solely three gamers had gone 40-20, and all are legends: Willie Mays (1955), Henry Aaron (1963, ‘66) and Carl Yastrzemski (1970). This combo became considerably more common during the homer-happy 1990s but has only happened about once every two years on average since 2000. Seven sluggers have notched multiple 40-20 campaigns, led by Alex Rodriguez’s 4. Ohtani might be a part of that record — and he may need one thing much more spectacular in retailer. We’ll get to that in a bit.
On tempo in 2023: Ohtani (LAA)
30 HR, 40 SB
Done 19 occasions by 13 gamers
Last: Mike Trout (LAA), 2012
Bobby Bonds stays the king of the 30-40 season, doing it 4 occasions from 1969-78. To at the present time, solely two others have even reached 30-40 twice: Bobby’s son Barry and Soriano. There have been 5 30-40 campaigns from 2002-07 however solely two since, by Matt Kemp (2011) and Trout, who did it as a rookie.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL), Carroll (AZ)
20 HR, 50 SB
Done 19 occasions by 11 gamers
Last: Hanley Ramirez (MIA) & Eric Byrnes (AZ), 2007
This is a combo that, appropriately, appears to return in pairs — and will once more in 2023. Not solely is Acuña simply 9 steals away, however the Rays’ Wander Franco (11 HR, 28 SB thus far) and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (14-27) each have a reliable probability to get there. There have been 13 seasons with no less than one 20-50 participant, and almost half of these (six) have seen multiple. That was the case in 2007, the one season of the previous 24 wherein anybody reached these numbers. All-time stolen base king Rickey Henderson was Mr. 20-50, doing it 4 occasions between 1985-93, when he averaged 19-67.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL)
40 HR, 30 SB
Done 13 occasions by 11 gamers
Last: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL) & Christian Yelich (MIL), 2019
Until 1988, solely Aaron (1963) had ever pulled this one off. Canseco joined him then, and it occurred seven extra occasions between 1996-99, with Barry Bonds and Jeff Bagwell each doing it twice throughout that span. Acuña added himself to the record 4 years in the past (41-37), together with Yelich, who was driving an influence surge that he has not rediscovered since. If Acuña’s energy picks up simply barely with the new summer season climate, he might get right here once more.
20 HR, 60 SB
Done six occasions by three gamers
Last: Rickey Henderson (OAK), 1990
While this one isn’t fairly as uncommon as 40-40, it’s additionally true that there have been three 40-40 seasons for the reason that final 20-60 marketing campaign. And fewer gamers have achieved this combo, with Henderson doing it thrice and fellow Hall of Famer Joe Morgan twice. Each of these occurred between 1973-90.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL)
50 HR, 20 SB
Done 4 occasions by 4 gamers
Last: Alex Rodriguez (NYY), 2007
When you consider a 50-homer season, you consider the form of hulking slugger who isn’t a lot of a stolen base menace. Players have knocked 50-plus homers in a season 47 occasions, and extra of these got here with two or fewer steals (15) than with 10 or extra (14). So that actually makes you admire how particular 50-20 is. Three of these seasons belong to all-time greats (A-Rod, Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.), and the fourth? That got here in 1996, when the Orioles’ Brady Anderson greater than doubled his second-biggest dwelling run season to go 50-21. (He is also within the unique 20-50 Club, having gone 21-52 simply 4 years earlier.) So look out for the uber-talented Ohtani, who completed simply 4 homers shy of 50-20 in his first AL MVP season in 2021.
On tempo in 2023: Ohtani (LAA)
40 HR, 40 SB
Done 4 occasions by 4 gamers
Last: Alfonso Soriano (WSH), 2006
This one you realize, as famous above. Canseco and Bonds each did it with precisely 40 steals and Soriano with 41. Rodriguez put up the largest 40-40 marketing campaign, going 42-46 for the 1998 Mariners. Since Soriano in 2006, solely two gamers have even reached the 35-35 threshold: Kemp, who was one homer from 40-40 in 2011, and Acuña, who was three steals off in 2019.
20 HR, 70 SB
Done thrice by two gamers
Last: Eric Davis (CIN) & Rickey Henderson (NYY), 1986
All three 20-70 seasons occurred in 1985 or ‘86, and all three also cracked the 80-steal barrier. Henderson accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons with the Yankees, and in fact came pretty close to an absurd 30-90 effort in ‘86 (28 HR, 87 SB). But don’t overlook Davis, who went 27-80 — whereas not even getting sufficient plate appearances (487) to qualify for the batting title. With the advantage of the new guidelines in place for 2023, Acuña and Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz are headed MLB’s first 70-steal seasons since Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009, although they should choose issues up a bit to crack 80 for the primary time since 1988 (Henderson and Vince Coleman).
“He’s not just straight out-running everybody,” Olson mentioned of his teammate’s base thievery. “You know, he’s watching pitchers. He’s picking the right counts, the right time to steal. He’s getting good jumps. So while he probably could just, you know, get a bad jump and run and be safe a lot of the time, he’s doing both sides of it. You’re getting good jumps and picking the right pitches, right counts, and you have the speed that he has. It’s why he’s having such a such a big season.”
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL)
30 HR, 50 SB
Done two occasions by two gamers
Last: Barry Bonds (PIT), 1990
So sure, Acuña is on observe to hitch a number of golf equipment much more unique than 40-40. And like Bonds in 1990, he might do it whereas successful his first MVP Award. Once once more, Davis managed this unimaginable feat whereas not even enjoying a full season, with 37 homers and 50 steals in solely 129 video games performed in 1987. And whereas we’re solely single seasons right here, it’s value noting that Davis really went 46-99 over one 162-game stretch between 1986-87. Yes, in some alternate universe on the market, a wholesome Davis might have gone 50-100.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL)
30 HR, 60 SB
Actually, 30-50 isn’t even the rarest combo Acuña can notch, contemplating that 30-60 is unprecedented (as is, clearly 30-70 and even 30-80). Henderson has come the closest to this 30-60, getting inside two homers in each 1986 and ‘90. But no person with 30 large flies has ever stolen greater than 52 bases. Acuña might be the primary.
On tempo in 2023: Acuña (ATL)
40 HR, 50 SB
A-Rod was 4 steals brief in 1998, whereas Davis was three steals away in ‘87 — and sure would have completed it had he performed a full season. Needless to say, neither 40-60 nor 40-70 has occurred both, however Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies is not counting out his good buddy and teammate.
“He can do it,” Albies mentioned of Acuña’s 40-70 bid. “He can do it. No doubt. Keep playing his game the way he does, and it’s gonna happen. Nothing is impossible with him.”
50 HR, 30 SB
This one almost occurred in 1997, when the Rockies’ Larry Walker bashed 49 homers and swiped 33 bases throughout his NL MVP-winning marketing campaign. Before you ask, he really went deep extra occasions on the street that 12 months (29) than at Coors Field (20).
60 HR, 20 SB
The high-flying 1998 season produced each essentially the most homers to go along with 20-plus steals (56 by Griffey) and essentially the most steals to go along with 60-plus homers (18 by Sammy Sosa), however each got here up a little bit brief. The similar goes for Aaron Judge throughout his magical 2022 marketing campaign, when he stole a career-high 16 bases alongside along with his AL-record 62 lengthy balls.
Anthony Castrovince contributed reporting to this story.
Content Source: www.mlb.com