Jose Canseco, in 1988.
Barry Bonds, in 1996.
Alex Rodriguez in 1998.
Alfonso Soriano, in 2006.
Ronald Acuña Jr., last year.
And Shohei Ohtani this season: those are the six members of the 40-40 club in MLB.
Throughout decades of professional baseball in America, just six hitters have achieved at least 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same campaign.
Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez is this close to becoming the seventh member of the exclusive club.
On Saturday, he hit home run number 39 against the Houston Astros, inching closer to making history.
“José Ramírez is one home run away from a 40/40 season!”, the team posted on X.
José Ramírez is one home run away from a 40/40 season! 🐐#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/V7ADFuPObL
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 28, 2024
With Cleveland down 1-0, J-Ram took longtime Astros ace Justin Verlander deep in the first inning to put himself on the brink of glory.
He has already gotten enough steals to enter the club: now, it’s a matter of hitting one last round-tripper in the season finale on Sunday against the Astros.
One more.
It doesn’t seem like such a big ask, yet it will be the hardest one to get.
Ramirez has had one of the finest seasons of his brilliant career, and has carried the Guardians all year long with his offensive prowess.
Fans are asking for one more homer, so he can become the first Guardian in history to reach the ultimate power-speed individual goal.
He has the power, contact, and hunger to leave it all out in one swing.
It’s just a matter of finding the right pitch to hit.
Will the Astros pitching staff give him one?
We shall find out on Sunday.
NEXT: Guardians Rookie Pitcher Is Ready For Any Role In The Playoffs
