Alex Rodriguez Joins the 40-40 Club

On September 19, 1998, Alex Rodriguez hit his 40th home run of the season off the Angels' Jack McDowell in the first inning, becoming the third player in major league history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. Jose Canseco had done it first in 1988 with the Oakland Athletics, and Barry Bonds followed in 1996 with the San Francisco Giants.

Rodriguez was 23 years old and in his third full season with the Seattle Mariners. He finished the year with 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases, combining power and speed at a level few shortstops had ever approached. The combination of production from the shortstop position set him apart. No player at that position had ever slugged 40 home runs in a season before Rodriguez did it.

He had stolen his 40th base earlier in September, on September 5 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and spent the next two weeks chasing the 40th home run. The blast against McDowell completed the milestone in front of the Anaheim crowd.

Rodriguez never again stole more than 28 bases in a season. The 1998 campaign represented the apex of his combination of speed and power. His career would generate far larger home run totals, 696 over 22 seasons, but the stolen base production of his early years in Seattle was never replicated. Alfonso Soriano became the fourth member of the 40-40 club in 2006, and Ronald Acuna Jr. shattered the concept entirely with 41 homers and 73 steals in 2023.