Who has Witt joined?
Power and speed generally exist on a spectrum. If you’re very strong or very fast, you likely don’t have the other end of the spectrum covered. Plenty of players are reasonably strong and reasonably fast, but it’s relatively rare to find a pure athlete who is extremely strong and extremely fast.
In Major League Baseball, this is exemplified by the link between stolen bases and home runs. The more home runs you have, generally the fewer stolen bases you end up with—and vice versa.
Enter the 30-30 club, the club of MLB players who have hit 30 home runs and stolen 30 bases in a single season. All in all, it has happened only 72 times by a total of 47 unique players. Kansas City Royals star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is one of those 47 unique players, and he owns two of the total 30-30 seasons already.
Who, then, are Witt’s peers when it comes to multiple 30-30 seasons? There are 16 players with multiple seasons—but only three players with three or more 30-30 seasons.
It’s Willie Mays. He was good at baseball. Of course he’s on this list.
The elder Bonds was the first to achieve five 30-30 seasons, doing so in a nine-year span from 1969 through 1978. He was a very good but seldom great hitter who ended his career with 461 stolen bases and 332 homers.
Johnson is the first of a few names on this list where you go “huh, I wouldn’t have thought he’d be here.” That’s because Johnson hit more than 30 home runs on only three occasions and stole 30 or more bases on four occasions. It’s just that he matched them up in three seasons.
Gant played from 1987 to 2003, which is just a gigantic gulf of a career. But he achieved two 30-30 seasons. Gant finished his 30-30 seasons by the time he was 26.
Bonds is the best baseball player of all time and I will not take no for an answer. He had five 30-30 seasons in the 90s and would have been a Hall of Famer had he never played a game in the new millennium. Then he did play some games in the new millennium roided up and broke the game of baseball by himself. Legend.
Sosa probably should be in the Hall of Fame, but being a part of the steroid era will keep him out. In a way, he was kind of Barry Bonds-lite, which I swear is not a pun on his skin bleaching results.
Bagwell only stole 30 or more bases twice in his career. Of course, he hit 30 or more home runs on nine occasions, so he had plenty of time to line it up. An impeccable hitter from his very first season, Bagwell is a worth Hall of Famer.
Mondesí was a solid player who ceased being a productive guy more or less by the time he turned 30. But in his 20s, Mondesí was the classic power/speed guy—and the father to another power/speed guy who would have certainly made this list if he only could stay healthy.
Vlad was just such a delight to watch. You couldn’t strike him out. He could hit balls in other zip codes. What a guy. Guerrero was certainly more of a power hitter, only swiping 181 total bases in his career, as he basically stopped trying to do so in his age-32 season. Guerrero was one home run away from a 40-40 season in 2002.
Like a lot of players on this list, Soriano’s bas stealing declined rather precipitously in his 30s. But he was a thief in his 20s, getting to the 30-30 figure on four occasions. He was also one homer away from a 40-40 season in 2002.
I remember Abreu as more of a power hitter, but he notched 400 stolen bases in his career and was stealing 20+ bags a season into his late 20s. Abreu had a hell of a career but is probably on the outside looking in for the Hall.
Kinsler might be the most surprising name on this list. Kinsler was known for his defensive prowess and professional plate appearances, but like a couple of others he just barely squeaked out a couple of 30-30 seasons with the Rangers.
A great hitter, Braun performed consistently not unlike one Alex Gordon, who he would be compared with his whole career. Braun had more power and speed than Gordon, and he was able to get a couple of 30-30 seasons in back-to-back years.
Acuña is one of the poster children for modern baseball athleticism. He has two 30-30 seasons through his age-26 season, with last year being an eye-popping 40-70 season. In fact, over a 150-game average, Acuña has averaged 34 home runs and 40 steals over his whole career. He’s easily eclipsed the 30-30 mark both years he’s played more than 119 games, and if he can stay healthy, he’ll get a lot more.
I am tired of Ramírez. He’s killed the Royals for years and years, and I’d wager that he’s gonna be in the Hall of Fame someday. Ramírez was one home run away from a 40-40 season last year, his mos prolific stolen base season in his whole career—very impressive for a 31-year-old.
Witt’s potential feels immense, and he could very well set a variety of records by himself. No player has ever had three consecutive 30-30 seasons, but Witt is positioned to be the first next year. The one problem: Witt slowed way down in the stolen base realm towards the end of last year. It reminds me a little of Mike Trout’s career trajectory; Trout stole 49 bases his first full season, but he stopped stealing as often and focused even more on his bat—Trout last stole 30 or more bases in his age-20 season.
Still: what Witt is doing on the field is an immense joy from a unique talent. May we always cherish what he does for the Royals on the diamond.
