Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez launched his 39th home run of the year on Saturday night against the Houston Astros (GameTracker), putting him one more home run away from becoming the seventh player to ever record 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in a single season. Ramírez would become the second player to join the 40-40 club this year, with Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani having long since minted the 50-50 club by homering and stealing more than 50 times apiece.
Ramírez, 32, entered Saturday having hit .277/.334/.530 (141 OPS+) with 38 home runs and 41 stolen bases (on 48 attempts). His contributions have been worth an estimated 6.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations. Ramírez had previously recorded a 30-30 season back in 2018, when he slugged 39 home runs and swiped 34 stolen bases.
In the years since Ramírez’s 30-30 effort, MLB has altered the rules on pitcher disengagements — that, in turn, has led to an increased frequency in stolen-base attempts league-wide. Keep that in mind as you check out the six 40-40 seasons thus far in MLB history:
- Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers, 2024
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves, 2023
- Alfonso Soriano, Nationals, 2006
- Alex Rodriguez, Mariners, 1998
- Barry Bonds, Giants, 1996
- Jose Canseco, Athletics, 1988
Even if Ramírez falls short of clearing the 40-40 threshold before MLB’s regular season comes to a close Sunday, he’s likely to finish as one of three players to top 30-30 in 2024. The others being Ohtani, of course, and Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Only one other player is within a reasonable striking distance of reaching 30 in both categories: New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is three steals short.
Lindor, once a Cleveland teammate of Ramírez’s, only just returned from a back injury, however, making it unlikely that the Mets repeatedly give him the green light over their four remaining games.