There is a 40/40 club in baseball that currently has only four members. The club is so elite because it is for players that have hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in a season. Jose Canseco was the first to do it in 1988. Barry Bonds joined him in ’96. A-Rod accomplished it in ’98. Alfonso Soriano was the last to do it in 2006. This year we have Ronald Acuna from the Atlanta Braves knocking on the 40/40 door.
Acuna just hit home run number 10 in game 42 of the Braves season. He has 17 stolen bases already through mid-May. At this rate, he would fall just short with 39 HR but would have 65 SB. That would put him in the 30/30 club for a second time. He put up 41/37 in 2019, just missing the 40/40 level. 43 players have accomplished 30/30 in a season. Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles was last to put up 30/30, in 2021. No one has ever joined the 50/50 club.
Eye Opening Stats
Currently, Acuna is in a club of his own. A 1.041 OPS – On Base + Slugging Percentages is insane. His slugging percentage is .608. A lifetime .524 slugging percentage sums it up. The major difference this year is the batting average. Acuna is batting .348 through the middle of May and is on pace to break 200 hits for the first time in his six-year career. In addition, his .438 on-base percentage means he gets on nearly four out of every nine times he steps into the batter’s box.
Acuna has scored a run in over 50% of the time he gets on base. He has become one of the most feared leadoff hitters in baseball. Walks and singles become doubles because of the great base stealing. Now throw in the fact that Acuna makes his way home fifty-plus percent of the time. It comes as no surprise that Acuna is the clear-cut favorite to win MVP in the NL this year. If he can join the exclusive 40/40 club, there is no doubt he will bring home the prize.
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