Alex Rodriguez’s Special Distinction in MLB’s Exclusive 40-40 Club

Alex Rodriguez punched his ticket to one in all baseball’s most unique golf equipment in 1998 whereas enjoying for the Seattle Mariners. What’s much more spectacular is that over 25 years later, he nonetheless holds a distinction that nobody else in the 40-40 membership can declare.

Currently, six MLB players have registered at the very least 40 dwelling runs and 40 steals in a single season. Each one in all them — besides A-Rod — both performed the outfield or DH’d once they did it. As a 22-year-old shortstop, Rodriguez put collectively a marketing campaign in which he slugged 42 homers whereas stealing 46 bases.

Related: A Complete Guide to Single-Season (& Single-Game) HR Performances

The 40-40 Club: Every Member in History

Before stepping into what makes A-Rod’s model particular, this is the total image of everybody in this membership:

This was only a four-person membership earlier than the 2023 season, with Soriano being the final one to perform the feat in 2006 with Washington. But the brand new MLB guidelines round pickoff makes an attempt and tempo of play modified issues shortly. Acuña and Ohtani every joined in back-to-back seasons, and every made their very own mark in other ways.

Acuña went 40-70 whereas capturing the National League MVP Award, whereas Ohtani turned the primary member of the 50-50 membership. But even with these jaw-dropping performances on the ledger, no person in the 40-40 membership did it like A-Rod.

Looking Back on A-Rod’s 40-40 Campaign

During his historic 1998 marketing campaign, A-Rod was chosen to his third straight All-Star Game, completed ninth in American League MVP Award voting, and received his second Silver Slugger Award.

The younger shortstop slashed .310/.360/.560 with 42 homers, 35 doubles, 124 RBI, 123 runs scored, and 46 steals in 161 video games. He additionally collected 213 hits, which led the league. While he was a fairly constant base stealer all through the primary 10 to fifteen years of his big-league profession, the 1998 season was the one time he registered greater than 30 (though he did have 5 seasons with 20-plus).

A-Rod did most of his injury on the highway as an alternative of in entrance of Mariners followers on the Kingdome. He has amassed almost the identical variety of plate appearances at dwelling (372) as he did on the highway (376). However, Rodriguez slashed .286/.332/.484 with 18 homers, 54 RBI, 52 runs scored, and 21 stolen bases in Seattle. Those numbers improved dramatically on the highway, the place he hit .335/.387/.636 with 24 homers, 70 RBI, 71 runs scored, and 25 stolen bases.

Digging Into What Makes A-Rod’s Effort So Special

Rodriguez wasn’t the primary participant to go 40-40. While his 46 steals have been essentially the most among the many first 4 members of the membership, that is actually now not the case because of Acuña and Ohtani.

So what do you give? As talked about on the prime of this text, A-Rod was the primary (and nonetheless the one) major infielder to perform this spectacular feat. It’s straightforward to assume Soriano was additionally in the identical boat for some time.

He spent the primary few years of his big-league profession as a second baseman and flirted with 40-40 in 2002 and 2003 with the New York Yankees. But 2006 was the primary 12 months he transitioned to being a full-time outfielder, enjoying left discipline for 158 video games throughout his lone 12 months with the Nationals.

Who Has the Best Shot at Being the Next Infielder in the Club?

Who has the very best shot at being the second major infielder to affix the 40-40 membership? I believe Bobby Witt Jr. has the potential to get it executed, particularly after posting consecutive 30-30 seasons in 2023 and 2024.

However, the participant I believe has the very best likelihood of constructing it occur subsequent is Elly De La Cruz. He’s in his fourth big-league marketing campaign in 2026, is simply 24 years outdated, and has confirmed to be a constant power-speed risk for the Cincinnati Reds. His most eye-popping efficiency thus far was in 2024 for Cincy. He slashed .259/.339/.471 with 25 homers, 36 doubles, 10 triples, and a league-leading 67 steals. Of course, the most important knock on his season was the league-leading 218 strikeouts.

Although Elly continues to be hanging out a bunch by way of the primary month-plus of 2026, he is placing collectively a primary half worthy of All-Star consideration whereas racking up 10 homers and eight steals by way of his first 33 video games. If he is the following participant to affix the 40-40 membership, De La Cruz would be a part of A-Rod as the one infielders. He’d even be the primary switch-hitter to get it executed, although, which might be sick.

What About the Rest of the Field?

Beyond Witt and De La Cruz, that is truly a fairly skinny record as a result of it requires an especially particular talent set of elite uncooked energy AND elite foot velocity, sustained over a 162-game schedule. Most energy hitters decelerate as they become older. Most speedsters do not develop the sort of pop it takes to clear 40.

The overlap is uncommon, which is what makes A-Rod’s 1998 season age so effectively. The rule adjustments have opened the door for extra 40-40 seasons in basic, however relating to an infielder getting the job executed, A-Rod nonetheless stands alone in the interim.

Frequently Asked Questions