40-40 club
From BR Bullpen
The most elite company of power and speed in a single season. It usually refers to a season with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season - although occasionally it is meant to refer to 40 home runs and 40 doubles in a season (Willie Stargell got quite a bit of attention for accomplishing that in 1973).
The members are:
- Jose Canseco, 1988, 42 home runs, 40 stolen bases
- Barry Bonds, 1996, 42 home runs, 40 stolen bases
- Alex Rodriguez, 1998, 42 home runs, 46 stolen bases
- Alfonso Soriano, 2006, 46 home runs, 41 stolen bases
Near misses:
- Bobby Bonds, 1973, 39 home runs, 43 stolen bases
- Vladimir Guerrero, 2002, 39 home runs, 40 stolen bases
- Alfonso Soriano, 2002, 39 home runs, 41 stolen bases
- Carlos Beltran, 2004, 38 home runs, 41 stolen bases
There is also a less exclusive 30-30 club. Players are never said to be in the 20-20 club or 25-25 club, although Eric Davis and Joe Morgan drew attention for their unusual accomplishments: Davis and Rickey Henderson created the 25-80 club in 1986, while Morgan achieved the 25-60 club twice.
Bill James devised the Power/speed number to quantify the combination of stolen bases and homers. Alex Rodriquez' 1998 figure of 43.9 is the highest Power/Speed number ever. The second and third highest Power/Speed Numbers (PSN) registered were Eric Davis in 1987 - 42.5 (37 HR/ 50 SB) and Rickey Henderson in 1986 - 42.4 (28 HR/ 87 SB).
