Ronald Acuña Jr. Shatters MLB Record with 30 Home Runs : Ronald Acua Jr. is the first MLB player to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season. Lance Lynn, a Dodgers starter, gave Acua his 30th home run, a grand slam, on Thursday. With 29 games left, Acua aims to join the 40-40 club, hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in a season.
Barry Bonds and Eric Davis hit 30 home runs and stole 50+ bases in one season, a record for power and speed. Bonds hit 33 HR and stole 52 bases for the Pirates in 1990. Davis hit 37 home runs and stole 50 bases in 129 games for the Cleveland Indians in 1987. If Acua hits ten more home runs this season, he will be one of only four players in baseball history to achieve a 40-40 season, alongside Jose Canseco, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano.
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Despite stolen bases in MLB increasing by 39% since 2022, Acua is no stranger to stealing bags. Even before the rule changes, Acua led the NL with 37 stolen bases in 2019. Due to rule changes, there will be an average of 0.71 stolen bases per team game in 2023. Acua capitalized on this trend by stealing 61 bases in 72 attempts, eight more than Oakland’s Esteury Ruiz.Aqua, 25, could win MVP this year. Currently, his batting average is 334, and his OPS is 983. Both numbers place him third in the National League. With these numbers and his power and speed, he is a strong candidate for the award.
Acua’s achievements are in the news due to the MLB’s performance-enhancing drug debate. Canseco and Rodriguez’s careers are tainted by drug use, while Acua’s achievements are genuine and drug-free. But the sport’s rule changes have raised questions about Acua’s record’s purity. Critics claim these changes may be why there are more stolen bases this season.Acua’s supporters argue that his prior success demonstrates his natural ability, even before the rule changes. At 21, he had 41 home runs and 37 stolen bases, just three short of the 40-40 club. As he’s young, baseball fans can expect even better numbers in the future.
