40–40 club explained

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 40–40 club is the group of batters, currently six, who have collected 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Few professional baseball players have possessed both the power and speed to reach this level, and no players have done so more than once. The six players with a 40–40 season are Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is the only player to achieve a 50–50 season, having done so in 2024.

Early history and pioneers

The first player to approach the mark was Ken Williams in 1922, with 39 home runs and 37 stolen bases, thus making him the first player to reach the 30–30 club. It took another 30 years for another player to come close to 40–40, as Willie Mays did in 1956 with 36 home runs and 40 stolen bases. In 1973, Bobby Bonds achieved 39–43; he hit two more home runs in a rain-out against the Braves on May 23, and a third home run in the 1973 MLB All Star Game, none of which counted as official home runs.

When Jose Canseco predicted he would reach 40–40 in 1988,[1] [2] he mistakenly assumed "five or six players must have done it."[3] After Canseco became the first player to reach 40–40, Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was quoted as saying, "Hell, If I'd known 40–40 was going to be a big deal, I'd have done it every year!"[4] Mantle's closest total was 31–21 in 1959.[5]

Members

Season!scope="col"
PlayerHRSBGames taken to
reach 40–40
Player's team40–40 game
19884240151Oakland AthleticsSeptember 23, 1988, vs Milwaukee Brewers, pitcher Juan Nieves[6]
19964240158San Francisco GiantsSeptember 27, 1996, vs Colorado Rockies, pitcher Armando Reynoso[7]
19984246153Seattle MarinersSeptember 19, 1998, vs Anaheim Angels, pitcher Jack McDowell[8]
20064641147Washington NationalsSeptember 16, 2006, vs Milwaukee Brewers, pitcher Dave Bush[9]
20234173152Atlanta BravesSeptember 22, 2023, vs Washington Nationals, pitcher Patrick Corbin[10]
20245459126Los Angeles DodgersAugust 23, 2024, vs Tampa Bay Rays, pitcher Colin Poche[11]

Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alfonso Soriano, and Ronald Acuña Jr. were outfielders in their 40–40 seasons, while Alex Rodriguez played shortstop. Shohei Ohtani served as a designated hitter in his 40–40 season due to an arm injury he suffered in the previous year. Acuña Jr. (41–37 in 2019), Soriano (39–41 in 2002, when playing second base), and Bonds (40–37 in 1997) all came close to having multiple 40–40 seasons.

Canseco, Bonds, and Soriano joined the 40–40 club by stealing their 40th bases, while Rodriguez, Acuña Jr., and Ohtani joined by hitting their 40th home runs. Ohtani is the only player to achieve both in the same game, stealing his 40th base in the fourth inning and then hitting a game-winning, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth for his 40th home run.[12]

Canseco, Acuña Jr., and Ohtani all won the Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award in the year of their 40–40 seasons. All three's teams also reached the MLB playoffs in their 40–40 years, and Ohtani's Dodgers won the World Series in his 50–50 year.[13] [14] Soriano is the only member of the club to have a batting average under .300 in his 40–40 season. Soriano also hit 41 doubles during his 40–40 season, making him the only player to achieve that feat.[15]

As of 2024, Acuña Jr. and Ohtani are the only active players who have achieved a 40–40 season. All four retired 40–40 club members had at least 400 career home runs and 200 stolen bases in their careers, and Bonds and Rodriguez are also members of the 600 home run club.[16]

No members of the 40–40 club have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Active players are ineligible for the Hall of Fame, and Soriano fell off the Hall of Fame ballot in his first year of eligibility in 2020. The other retired members of the 40–40 club have been linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs;[17] Bonds and Canseco were each implicated in the December 2007 Mitchell Report,[18] [19] while Rodriguez admitted in 2009 to using steroids.[20] [21]

In non-MLB leagues

After stealing a base in an October 2, 2015 game for the NC Dinos, first baseman Eric Thames became the first player to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season in a Korea Baseball Organization season.[22] The feat has never been achieved in Nippon Professional Baseball; the closest effort was Koji Akiyama's 1987 season, in which he hit 43 home runs and stole 38 bases.[23]

50–50 season

As of 2024, players have stolen 50 bases or more in an MLB season almost 500 times, while players have hit 50 home runs or more 50 times, but only Shohei Ohtani in 2024 has done both in the same season. Two other players, Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson, achieved 50 home runs in one season and 50 stolen bases in another season during their careers.[24]

Before Ohtani's 50–50 season, the highest number of home runs in a 50-stolen base season was 41 by Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023, and the highest number of stolen bases in a 50-home run season was 24, a mark shared by Willie Mays in 1955 and Alex Rodriguez in 2007.[25] [26]

In the September 19, 2024, game in which Ohtani reached the 50–50 plateau, he also became the first Dodger to achieve 10 or more runs batted in (RBIs) in a single game, a mark only achieved by 16 other batters.[24] In the game, Ohtani went 6-for-6 with three home runs and two doubles, and also stole two bases.[24] He finished the 2024 season with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases.

Season!scope="col"
PlayerHRSBGames taken to
reach 50–50
Player's team50–50 game
20245459150Los Angeles DodgersSeptember 19, 2024, vs Miami Marlins, pitcher Mike Baumann[27]

See also

References

General

Specific

Notes and References

  1. News: Canseco Facing High Expectations. The New York Times. Gerald. Eskenazi. October 5, 1988. June 17, 2012.
  2. Web site: Thomas Boswell . Jose Canseco's 40–40 Vision Starting to Come Into Focus . Los Angeles Times . August 19, 1988 . March 26, 2013.
  3. Book: Roberts, Russell. Stolen!: A History of Base Stealing. 175. McFarland. 1999. 9780786406500. August 21, 2012.
  4. News: These Lakers fans are living in la-la land. The Boston Globe . Dan. Shaughnessy. June 16, 2009.
  5. Web site: Mickey Mantle Statistics and History. Baseball-Reference.com. August 11, 2012.
  6. Web site: Oakland Athletics vs Milwaukee Brewers Box Score: September 23, 1988 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  7. Web site: San Francisco Giants vs Colorado Rockies Box Score: September 27, 1996 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  8. Web site: Seattle Mariners vs Anaheim Angels Box Score: September 19, 1998 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  9. Web site: Milwaukee Brewers vs Washington Nationals Box Score: September 16, 2006 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  10. Web site: Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals Box Score: September 22, 2023 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  11. Web site: Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score: August 23, 2024 . Baseball-Reference.com . en.
  12. Web site: Taking a deep dive into Ohtani's historic 40–40 feat . MLB.com . en.
  13. Web site: Most Valuable Player MVP Awards & Cy Young Awards Winners. Baseball-Reference.com. May 24, 2012.
  14. Web site: 2024 Major League Baseball Team Statistics . Baseball-Reference.com . 22 November 2024 . en.
  15. News: Soriano first ever to reach 40–40–40 mark. Associated Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20071102115527/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14961469/. dead. November 2, 2007. May 24, 2012. July 31, 2007.
  16. Web site: Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs. Baseball-Reference.com. May 8, 2012.
  17. News: Posnanski . Joe . The End Of An Era? . February 16, 2009 . Sports Illustrated . https://web.archive.org/web/20151118063531/http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=Alex+Rodriguez%27s+fall+tells+us+all+we+need+to+know+about+-+02.16.09+-+SI+Vault&urlID=409205737&action=cpt&partnerID=289881&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fmagazine%2FMAG1151741%2Findex.htm . dead . November 18, 2015 . August 21, 2012 . mdy-all .
  18. Web site: Mitchell Report proposes solutions. December 13, 2007. June 25, 2012. Barry M.. Bloom. MLB.com.
  19. Web site: Baseball's Mitchell Report Players. Baseball-Reference.com. May 24, 2012.
  20. News: ESPN. A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDs. Peter. Gammons. February 9, 2009. February 9, 2009.
  21. News: New York Times. Rodriguez Admits to Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Michael S.. Schmidt. February 9, 2009. February 9, 2009.
  22. News: Eric Thames becomes first with 40–40 in S. Korean baseball; Park Byung-ho sets RBI mark. 2 October 2015. Yonhap. October 2, 2015.
  23. News: 日本のプロ野球では前人未到の40―40 最も惜しかったのは43本塁打38盗塁. 30 September 2024. Sports Hōchi. 25 August 2024.
  24. News: Shohei Ohtani records first 50-50 season in MLB history: Dodgers superstar slugs 50 homers, steals 50 bases. 2024-09-20. Axisa. Mike. CBS Sports.
  25. News: Shohei Ohtani the first MLB player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases. 2024-09-19. Padilla. Ramon . USA Today. data provided by Sport's Reference's StatHead Baseball.
  26. News: 11 stats and facts as amazing as Ohtani's record-setting day at the plate. 2024-09-21. Langs. Sarah. MLB.com.
  27. Web site: Tracking Shohei Ohtani's quest for 50 home runs, 50 stolen bases .