As a 20-year-old last season, Ronald Acuña Jr. displayed his precociousness on the diamond and took home Rookie of the Year honors.
What he's doing at 21, however, is historic.
The Atlanta Braves outfielder entered play Friday sitting on 39 home runs and 36 stolen bases, placing him on the verge of reaching rare air and achieving a 40-40 season, which has been accomplished only four other times in MLB history.
As Acuña and the Braves race toward a second straight NL East title, he has 14 games remaining to become the youngest player to reach the benchmark. Before that, let's take a look back at the four historic seasons that preceded Acuña's current campaign.
Jose Canseco, Oakland Athletics, 1988
The first player to achieve 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in one season, Canseco is also the only player on the list to win the MVP while reaching 40-40 status.
As a 23-year-old, he drilled 42 home runs, stole 40 bags and made his first All-Star team. Oakland went on to lose the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants, 1996
Long before Bonds became the home run king, he was one of the league's top base-stealers. In 1990, he swiped 52 bags and the next year he took 43. So 1996 marked the third and final time he stole at least 40 bases in a season, and it also represented the shift in Bonds' game to the elite power that would carry him to the top of the all-time home run list and put him on this one (Bonds slugged 42 homers that year).
Bonds' dad, Bobby, had missed out on the first-ever inaugural 40-40 season by one home run in 1973.
Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners, 1998
Rodriguez accomplished his 40-40 campaign during his age-22 season, a year ahead of when Canseco did it. Rodriguez had blasted 59 dingers between his first two full seasons in the majors, but he exploded for 42 in 1998 and stole 46 bases to secure his spot in the record books.
Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals, 2006
There wasn't much to cheer about during the Nationals' first few years of existence, but Soriano provided an exception during the team's second – and his lone – season in the nation's capital. Soriano accomplished his 40-40 season (46 homers, 41 steals) at age 30, making him the oldest member of the 40-40 club.
Soriano had nearly reached the feat with the New York Yankees in 2002, when he went yard 39 times and stole 41 bags.
2019-09-13 13:24:00Z
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/braves/2019/09/13/ronald-acuna-jr-atlanta-braves-40-40-club/2309276001/
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