Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna is having himself one heck of a sophomore season. The 21-year-old sensation enters this weekend’s action hitting .295 with 30 homers, 75 RBI and 26 stolen bases.
This could potentially put Acuna in some elite company once the season comes to a conclusion. He’s on pace for 42 homers, 105 RBI and 36 stolen bases.
As David O’Brien of The Athletic notes, Acuna could potentially join just four other players in MLB history in the 40-homer, 40-stolen base club.
This is crazy for many reasons. Chief among them, stolen bases have seen a major downtick in this new home-run era. In fact, only two players have 30-plus steals on the season.
If Acuna were to reach 40, we could honestly say his sophomore campaign would be among the best in modern MLB history.
Canseco became the first player in the 40-40 club when he hit 42 homers and swiped 40 bases in 1988. That led to him earning AL MVP honors. Rickey Henderson led MLB with 93 stolen bases in 88.
Barry Bonds’ 1996 season also saw him hit 42 homers and steal 40 bases.
Another interesting fact. Three of the four that have accomplished this feat were linked to the Steroid era in baseball. They did, however, make history prior to be implicated in PED use.
As for Acuna, the sky seems to be the limit for this former NL Rookie of the Year.