A batter who can hit 30 homers in a season can steal more than 60 bases. Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta, 25), who is more than a Hot Junkie, stepped on the 60-base high. It is the first record of 60 stolen bases in six years in the major leagues. There is only one home run left in the first ever 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases.
Acuña Jr. played the first batter in right field against the Colorado Rockies in the ‘2023 Major League’ held at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, USA on the 29th (Korean time) and recorded 4 hits (1 home run), 1 walk and 5 RBIs in 5 at-bats. He also succeeded in stealing two bases. With 29 homers, he moved close to 30, while widening his gap to second place Corbin Carroll with 61 stolen bases on the season to 21. It is also 10 points away from Esteuri Luis (51), who ranks first in stolen bases in the American League.
Acuna Jr.’s stealing talent shined late in the game. Atlanta was trailing 5-4 until the sixth inning. Acuña’s home run in the top of the 5th led them to a 4-2 lead, but they tied the game in the bottom of the 5th, and regained the lead with Kevin Pilar’s sacrifice fly in the 6th. And it exploded again starting with Acuña Jr.’s stolen base in the 7th inning.
Acuña Jr., who came out as the lead batter in the 7th inning, stole second base immediately after getting on base with a heavy hit. It was the first record of 60 stolen bases in a single season in six years. Atlanta took a 9-4 lead with four points on timely hits from Austin Riley, Marcel Osuna, Sean Murphy and Orlando Arcia.
Acuña Jr. succeeded in stealing second base after a right-handed hit even after one out in the 8th inning. Atlanta won 14-5 with 5 runs in the 9th inning.메이저놀이터
Dee Gordon (D Strange-Gordon) was the last major league player to steal 60 bases in a single season in 2017. Atlanta still has 32 more games to play, so Acuna’s stolen bases could increase. The next goal in sight is the first 62 stolen bases since Jonathan Villa in 2016. The last 63 stolen bases was by Davey Lopez in 1976.
Acuna Jr. has 29 home runs and 61 stolen bases. The record of 20 homers and 60 stolen bases in a single season is the fourth and seventh after Ricky Henderson (three times), Joe Morgan (twice), and Eric Davis (one time). The last was Henderson in 1990, when he hit 28 home runs and 65 stolen bases. Acuna Jr. now holds the record for the first time ever with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases, with just one home run added.
I wonder how far the stolen base record will go. Acuna Jr. stole 61 bases in 130 games. In the remaining 32 games, he could steal 15 more bases if this trend continues. With 75 steals, he could catch up with Kenny Lofton in 1996.
MLB.com paid attention to the fact that Acuna’s achievement was achieved after overcoming knee surgery. Reporter Mark Bowman wrote, “This season is a great achievement for Acuna Jr., showing how special he can be when he’s healthy. He suffered a serious knee injury prior to the 2021 All-Star break, and his focus dropped.”
Meanwhile, the record of 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases came four times in the major leagues. It was recorded by Jose Canseco in 1988, Barry Bonds in 1996, Alex Rodriguez in 1998 and Alfonso Soriano in 2006. The player who came closest to this recently is Acuna Junior. He hit 41 home runs and 37 stolen bases in 156 games in 2019 at the age of 21. He also won the National League stealing title, but fell just short of 40-40.