Baseball loves statistics. The sports tracks so many, and with the advent of new technology, even more can be tracked. But some special plateaus are related to tried-and-true stats. In this case, baseball’s 40/40 club refers to players who have hit 40 home runs (HRs) and stolen 40 bases (SBs) in a single season.
In baseball’s history, only four players have managed this feat: Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, and Barry Bonds.
Taking a look at those 4 player’s record seasons
Player | Year | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|---|
Jose Canseco (Athletics) | 1988 | 42 | 40 |
Barry Bonds (Giants) | 1996 | 42 | 40 |
Alex Rodriguez (Mariners) | 1998 | 42 | 46 |
Alfonso Soriano (Nationals) | 2006 | 46 | 41 |
Repeat 40/40 Seasons?
No player has ever had more than one 40/40 season
It’s somewhat surprising that only these four players have managed to accomplish this feat, and not so surprising that they have not repeated. Still, how close did they come in their career to having a second 40 home run / 40 stolen base season?
Jose Canseco
Same as Rodriguez, Canseco never did reach 30, much less 40, stolen bases in any other season. Interestingly, he had an outburst of speed later in his career (2004).
Season Year | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|
1990 | 37 | 19 |
1991 | 44 | 26 |
1998 | 46 | 29 |
Alex Rodriguez
A-Rod’s stolen base total never rose above 30 in any other season, keeping him out of even the 30/30 club for any other season.
Season Year | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|
1999 | 42 | 21 |
2004 | 36 | 28 |
2007 | 54 | 24 |
Barry Bonds
Bonds had realistic opportunities to have more than one 40/40 season in any season between 1990 and 1998. After that, the HR total remained high, but he swiped fewer bases. Here are his 4 highest HR+SB seasons (excluding his 73 HR season)
Season Year | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|
1990 | 33 | 52 |
1992 | 34 | 39 |
1993 | 46 | 29 |
1997 | 40 | 37 |
Alfonso Soriano
Season Year | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|
2002 | 39 | 41 |
2003 | 38 | 35 |
2005 | 36 | 30 |
A Look at Recent Seasons
Are any players likely candidates to reach 40/40? Even though no one has done it yet, it is reasonable to expect it to happen in the next few years. Ronald Acuna has even talked about becoming baseball’s first 50/50 player.
Here’s a quick look at the closet players the last few years
2019 season
Player | Team | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|---|
Ronald Acuna | Braves | 41 | 37 |
Christian Yelich | Brewers | 42 | 40 |
Jonathan Villar | Orioles | 42 | 46 |
2018 season
Player | Team | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|---|
Jose Ramirez | Indians | 39 | 34 |
Trevor Story | Rockies | 37 | 27 |
Mookie Betts | Red Sox | 32 | 30 |
2017 season
Quick note about this season: Only two players had over 40 stolen bases, and they (Dee Gordon and Billy Hamilton) combined for only six home runs. The next two highest stolen base totals came from Whit Merrifield and Jose Altuve, and they barely combined for 40 home runs between the two of them. Below are the only two 30/20 seasons, as well as an almost 30/20.
Player | Team | # of Home Runs | # of Stolen Bases |
---|---|---|---|
Mike Trout | Angels | 33 | 22 |
Wil Myers | Padres | 30 | 20 |
Paul Goldschmidt | Diamondbacks | 36 | 18 |