MLB players have stolen at least 50 bases in a season nearly 500 times. They have hit 50 home runs or more 49 times. But no player has done both in a single season. Are we on the verge of a new milestone: the 50/50 club?
This season, 30-year-old Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers came closer to the 50/50 mark than ever before, and MLB Network predicts he will reach it before the end of the season.
Using data from Sport Reference’s StatHead Baseball, we compare Ohtani to some of baseball’s greats.
A look at the Elite 50
If Ohtani hits 50 home runs this season, it will only be his 50th.th time a player has accomplished this. The following table shows how he compares to the others in the 50-home run club and to the best base stealers in a season with at least 15 home runs.
“50/50 would be an incredible accomplishment,” said Sean Forman, president of Sports Reference. “No one has ever done that in a single season, and only two players have both hit 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in a single season of their career: Barry Bonds and Brady Anderson.”
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Ohtani could join the top group in the club of over 50 stolen bases
Given a milestone that was out of reach for so many years, it’s notable that Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves came closest to it in back-to-back seasons.
Last season, Acuña stole a whopping 73 bases and hit 41 home runs. Ohtani won’t surpass Acuña’s 73 stolen bases, but he has already hit more home runs, making him the first member of the 45/45 club.
Ricky Henderson of the Oakland A’s holds the modern record for most stolen bases in a season with 130 in 1982. He also hit 10 home runs that year. In the list below, Henderson’s name appears 13 times among players who have stolen 50 or more bases in a single season.
Ohtani could be one of the leaders in the 50+ homerun club
If Ohtani reaches the 50-home run mark, he will top the following list, which ranks members of the 50-home run club by their stolen bases.
You have to go back to 2007 to find a player who hit over 50 home runs and had 24 stolen bases: Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. Before that, you have to go back more than 50 years, when Willie Mays of the New York Giants had 51 home runs and 24 stolen bases.
When does Shohei Ohtani play his next game?
Ohtani has 10 games left in the regular season, below is the schedule:
Where Ohtani ranks in power and speed
Although Ohtani has already had a record season, Forman thinks Acuña’s 2023 season deserves more recognition. Baseball Reference’s Power-Speed Leaders list ranks players based on a formula that combines home runs with stolen bases in a single season.
“Right now, Acuña is above Ohtani because he’s had so many more steals, so I’d probably still rate him as the leading power-speed player.”
