Shohei Ohtani and Jarren Duran are, for now, in unique statistical combo clubs

Issue #194

In last night's Dodgers’ 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks, DH Shohei Ohtani hit his 43rd HR and had his 43rd stolen base. In doing so, he started a new statistical combo "club", the 43/43 club, as no player has ever had 43+ HR and 43+ SB in the same season.

The more well-known 40/40 club has six members, including Ohtani's 2024 season. The first was of course Jose Canseco's age-23, AL MVP season in 1988, when he led the AL with 42 HR (and 124 RBI) and swiped exactly 40 bases. Barry Bonds had 42 HR and 40 SB in 1996, Álex Rodríguez had 42 HR and 46 SB in 1998, and Alfonso Soriano had 46 HR and 41 SB in 2006.

Then last year Ronald Acuña Jr. took this 40/40 thing to another level by creating three new clubs: with 41 HR and 73 SB, he became the first player in the 40/50, 40/60, and 40/70 club! He led the NL with 73 SB, 149 runs, 217 hits, and a .416 OBP to go with his 41 HR, 106 RBI, and .337 BA en route to winning the NL MVP Award.

But none of these great seasons, including Acuña's last year, involved 43+ HR and 43+ SB. So that is the new "club" that Ohtani is the unique unicorn in for now. With an entire month left in the season, there is a good chance he'll get to 45/45. I think 48/48 is reasonable and perhaps even the nice round numbers of 50/50. (And he isn’t pitching this year… should he one day have a 40/40 season with say, 200 pitching strikeouts, well that would be even more impressive.)

The New 40/10/20/30 Club

As great as Ohtani's 2024, Acuña's 2023, and the other 40/40 seasons are, none of them include the broader statistical combination that Boston OF Jarren Duran is pulling off this year. After another good game yesterday, here is Duran's stats through August 30th are:

• 133 games

• 559 AB

• 96 runs

• 44 doubles

• 13 triples

• 21 HR

• 69 RBI

• 32 SB

• .295/.354/.533

• 142 OPS+

He is leading the AL in doubles, triples, at-bats, and plate appearances. Like many hitters these days, Duran strikes out a fair amount with 134 so far this year. But what is unique in the history of major league baseball is his combination of the following:

• 40+ doubles

• 10+ triples

• 20+ HR

• 30+ SB

Call it an arbitrary collection if you want, but again, none of the above outstanding 40/40 seasons also included 40+ doubles and 10+ triples (Ohtani this year has 30 doubles and 6 triples.)

Just as Shohei still has a month left in this season, so does Duran... meaning he has a shot at ending the year with 45+ doubles, 15+ triples, 25+ HR, and 35+ SB.

Noticing this unique combination in Duran's 2024 numbers made me wonder: who in the history of baseball has come close to having a 40/10/20/30 season? Here are the players who came close but fell short in various ways:

18+ HR:

• Hugh Duffy, 1894 - 51 doubles, 16 triples, 18 HR, 48 SB

• George Sisler, 1920 - 49 doubles, 18 triples, 19 HR, 42 SB

• Kiki Cuyler, 1925 - 43 doubles, 26 triples, 18 HR, 41 SB

It is worth noting that Duffy's 18 HR led the NL that year (as did his 51 doubles)—and he achieved those numbers in only 125 games. Cuyler's 26 triples is a very high number, and not surprisingly led the NL that year.

8+ Triples:

• Jimmy Rollins, 2006 - 45 doubles, 9 triples, 25 HR, 36 SB

• Ellis Burks, 1996 - 45 doubles, 8 triples, 40 HR, 32 SB

37+ Doubles:

• Jimmy Rollins, 2007 - 38 doubles, 20 triples, 30 HR, 41 SB

• Juan Samuel, 1987 - 37 doubles, 15 triples, 28 HR, 35 SB

• Vada Pinson, 1960 - 37 doubles, 12 triples, 20 HR, 32 SB

It is worth noting that this is Rollin's second time showing up on these lists. And his 2007 season is the only 35/20/30/40 season in history—which is objectively stronger than 40/10/20/30 as a club.

28+ SB:

• Bobby Abreu, 2000 - 42 doubles, 10 triples, 25 HR, 28 SB

Two totals off by 1 or 2:

• Mike Trout, 2013 - 39 doubles, 9 triples, 27 HR, 33 SB

• Cesar Cedeno, 1972 - 39 doubles, 8 triples, 22 HR, 55 SB

• Harry Stovey, 1889 - 38 doubles, 13 triples, 19 HR, 63 SB

Like Duffy’s season mentioned above, Harry Stovey's 19 HR led the AA in 1889 (as did his 119 RBI and 152 runs).

Up to 3 off for any of the four categories:

• Bobby Witt Jr., 2024 - 39 doubles, 11 triples, 28 HR, 27 SB

• Jean Segura, 2016 - 41 doubles, 7 triples, 20 HR, 33 SB

• Hanley Ramirez, 2006 - 46 doubles, 11 triples, 17 HR, 51 SB

• Brian Roberts, 2005 - 45 doubles, 7 triples, 18 HR, 27 SB

• Carlos Beltran, 2002 - 44 doubles, 7 triples, 29 HR, 35 SB

• Barry Bonds, 1998 - 44 doubles, 7 triples, 37 HR, 28 SB

• Craig Biggio, 1997 - 37 doubles, 8 triples, 22 HR, 47 SB

• Devon White, 1991 - 40 doubles, 10 triples, 17 HR, 33 SB

• Andre Dawson, 1982 - 37 doubles, 7 triples, 23 HR, 39 SB

• Andre Dawson, 1980 - 41 doubles, 7 triples, 17 HR, 34 SB

• Zoilo Versalles, 1965 - 45 doubles, 12 triples, 19 HR, 27 SB

• Vada Pinson, 1963 - 37 doubles, 14 triples, 22 HR, 27 SB

• Sam Thompson, 1895 - 45 doubles, 21 triples, 18 HR, 27 SB

Again, it is worth noting that Thompson only played 119 games in 1895 and his 18 HR (along with 165) led the NL.

As you can see, Duran might not be unique for very long in having a 40/10/20/30 season, as Bobby Witt Jr. this year just needs 1 double and 3 SB and has a full month left to do it!

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.