Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. became the fifth player in Major League Baseball history to join the 40-40 club (home runs, doubles).

Acuna, 25, led off the bottom of the first inning at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on March 23, hitting a slider from Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin into the left field stands for his 40th home run of the season.

It made him the first member of the 40-40 club in 17 years, since Alfonso Soriano of the Washington Nationals in 2006. Or, more accurately, the first 40-60 club. He now has 40 home runs and 68 stolen bases.

It’s a feat that has only been accomplished five times in MLB history.

In 1988, Oakland Ace Jose Canseco became the first member of the 40-40 club when he posted a 42-40 (home runs and stolen bases) record. Then in 1996, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants became the second member with an identical 42-40.

Two years later, Seattle Mariners shortstop Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) became a 40-40 member with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases. Eight years after A-Rod, Washington Nationals outfielder/second baseman Soriano made the list at 46-41.

But Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, and Soriano are all drug suspects. The media has characterized the period from the late 1980s to the late 2010s as the steroid era.

Acuna Jr. is the first clean hitter. Acuna Jr. came close to reaching 40-40 in the 2019 season. He finished the season with 41 home runs and 37 stolen bases. That was before a leg injury ended his season with six games remaining.온라인카지노

The Venezuelan-born Acuna Jr. made his debut in 2018 and won the NL Rookie of the Year award. The home run gave him 160 for his career. He has 175 stolen bases. He is the first player in MLB history to go 160-160 (home runs and stolen bases) before the age of 25.

His stolen base total is unique among members of the 40-40 club, in part because bases will be larger in 2023. A-Rod’s 46 stolen bases are the most of the previous four.

Joining the 40-40 club pretty much sealed the NL MVP in 2023. 40-40 is not an MVP guarantee. Of the four, Canseco is the only one who would have won the MVP with a 40-40 record. However, Acuna Jr. is not only leading the league in home runs and stolen bases this year, but also in batting average (.337) (2nd), hits (209) (1st), runs scored (143) (1st), RBI (101) (9th), OPS (1.012) (1st), and WAR (7.8) (2nd).