A hitter who can hit 30 home runs in a season can also steal 60 or more bases. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta, 25) has reached the 60-steal plateau. It’s the first 60-steal season in the major leagues in six years. He is one home run shy of the first 30-homer, 60-steal season in history.
Acuña Jr. batted leadoff in right field against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA, on Monday (May 29) and went 4-for-5 with one home run, one walk, and five RBIs. He also stole two bases. With 29 home runs, he moved closer to 30, while his 61 stolen bases on the season extended his lead over second-place Corbin Carroll to 21. He’s also 10 away from the American League leader in stolen bases, Esther Lewis (51).
Acuña Jr.’s stolen base talent was on display late in the game. Atlanta was down 5-4 heading into the sixth inning. They took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth on Aquino’s home run, tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, and regained the lead in the sixth on Kevin Pillar’s sacrifice fly. The offense exploded again in the seventh, starting with a stolen base by Acuña Jr.
After leading off the seventh inning with a single up the middle, Acuña Jr. stole second base. It was his first 60-steal single-season in six years. Atlanta scored four runs on RBI singles by Austin Riley, Marcell Osuna, Sean Murphy and Orlando Arcia to take a 9-4 lead.
Acuña Jr. followed with a single to right and stole second base in the eighth. Atlanta added five runs in the ninth inning to take the 14-5 victory.
The last major league player to steal 60 bases in a single season was Dee Strange-Gordon in 2017. Atlanta still has 32 more games to go, so Acuña’s stolen base total could still rise. The next goal in his immediate sights is the first 62 steals since Jonathan Villar in 2016. The last 63 steals came from Davey Lopez in 1976.
Last 60+ stolen bases in the major leagues
60 – Dee Gordon in 2017
61 – Michael Bourn in 2011
62 – Jonathan Villar in 2016
63 – Davey Lopez in 1976
64 – Dee Gordon in 2014
65 – Juan Pierre in 2003
70 – Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009
75 – Kenny Lofton, 1996
80 – Eric Davis in 1986
Acuña Jr. has 29 home runs and 61 doubles. He is only the fourth player to record 20 homers and 60 steals in a single season, joining Rickey Henderson (three times), Joe Morgan (twice) and Eric Davis (once). The last was Henderson in 1990, when he hit 28 homers and drove in 65 runs. Acuña Jr. now needs just one more home run to become the first 30-homer, 60-steal player in history.
We’ll see how far he can go with the stolen bases. Acuña Jr. has 61 stolen bases in 130 games. In his remaining 32 games, he could steal 15 more bases if the trend continues. With 75 steals, he would catch Kenny Lofton in 1996.
MLB.com noted that Acuña is coming off knee surgery. “This season is a huge accomplishment for Aquino Jr. because it shows how special he is when he’s healthy,” wrote Mark Bowman. He suffered a serious knee injury before the All-Star break in 2021 that slowed him down,” he wrote.안전놀이터
Meanwhile, the 40-homer, 40-steal mark has been achieved four times in the majors. Jose Canseco in 1988, Barry Bonds in 1996, Alex Rodriguez in 1998, and Alfonso Soriano in 2006. The most recent player to come close to this is Acuña Jr. In 2019, at the age of 21, he hit 41 home runs and 37 doubles in 156 games. He also won the National League stolen base title, but fell just short of 40-40.