What Is The 40/40 Club? Shohei Ohtani Becomes Fastest Player To Join The Group

What Is The 40/40 Club? Shohei Ohtani Becomes Fastest Player To Join The Group

Topline

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani notched his newest record-breaking efficiency Friday night time with a walk-off grand slam towards the Tampa Bay Rays that earned him a spot amongst a few of the finest MLB gamers ever within the league’s extremely unique 40-40 membership.

Key Details

Ohtani’s 389-foot grand slam and his stolen base within the fourth inning marked his entrance into the membership, which is made up of gamers with 40 house runs and 40 stolen bases in a single season.

Ohtani managed to affix the membership in simply 126 video games, besting the group’s earlier chief, Alfonso Soriano, who reached the 40-40 mark in 2006 with 147 video games.

The 40-40 membership now consists of Ohtani, Soriano, Jose Canseco (151 video games in 1988), Ronald Acuña Jr. (152 video games in 2023), Alex Rodriguez (153 video games in 1998) and Barry Bonds (158 video games in 1996).

Ohtani and Acuña collectively marked the primary time in league historical past gamers have joined the 40-40 membership in consecutive years, with Acuña securing the achievement after a 17-year drought.

Ohtani’s traditionally fast entrance into the membership leaves him with a good shot at changing into the primary participant in MLB historical past to achieve 50 house runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, because the Dodgers have 33 video games remaining within the common season.

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What To Watch For

If Ohtani captures the Nationwide League MVP award this yr, it is going to be the primary time the achievement has been attained by a 40-40 membership member in consecutive seasons. The final two gamers to take action have been Acuña (2023) and Canseco (1988).

Tangent

Acuña has essentially the most stolen bases of any 40-40 membership member, racking up a whopping 73 steals final season.

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Ohtani’s complete earnings at $85.3 million within the yr ended Could 2024, making him the thirteenth highest-paid athlete on the earth, and prime paid baseball participant.

Key Background

Ohtani has been lauded because the MLB’s present finest participant and firmly cemented his place among the many league’s finest gamers of all time. The 30-year-old is understood for his expertise as each a batter and a pitcher, which is extraordinarily uncommon in trendy baseball. He was the primary participant in MLB historical past to hit a minimum of 40 house runs and notch 10 wins as a pitcher final season. He made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Los Angeles Angels, the place he ultimately grew to become the league’s first participant to obtain all-star designation as a hitter and a pitcher concurrently. The star participant signed a $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers in December. Ohtani’s contract with the Dodgers exceeds these of star athletes in different sports activities, resembling Kansas Metropolis Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($450 million) and Los Angeles Angels heart fielder Mike Trout ($426 million).

Additional Studying

How Ohtani’s $700 Million Deal With The Dodgers Smashes The File Books (Forbes)

Ohtani, Ozuna, Oh My: Sluggers Search First NL Triple Crown Since 1937 (Forbes)