30-30 club

The 30-30 club is a grouping of Major League Baseball players who have reached the 30 home run and 30 stolen base plateaus in the same season.

The term "club" is used rather loosely, as it is generally used by sports writers and fans to group players together under a common heading. The word "club" was likely coined based on the original exclusiveness and rarity of a 30-30 season. Statistically, the 30-30 club is of note due to the pairing of power and speed - two nominal measurements usually isolated from one another. Power, in this case, is measured through the number of home runs hit during a season. Speed is measured through the amount of bases stolen in that same season. For example, a slugging first baseman, like Prince Fielder, would not usually accumulate high stolen base totals. Likewise, a speedy center fielder, like Juan Pierre, may be more adept at stealing bases, but may not supply much power. Thus, many players may be able to either steal 30 bases or hit 30 home runs, but only a rare handful may be able to do both.

Trends and breakdown

Recent trends show that club membership has steadily increased since the 1970s. Ken Williams was the first player to reach the mark in 1922 with 39 home runs and 37 stolen bases. He was the sole member of the club for 34 years until Willie Mays had back-to-back 30-30 seasons in 1956 and 1957. Occurrences then began to increase thereafter, as there were 2 in the 1960s, 5 (4 by Bobby Bonds) in the 1970s, 7 in the 1980s, and 20 (5 by Barry Bonds) in the 1990s. So far there have been 16 instances since 2000, and there has been at least 1 30-30 player every year since 1987 (except for the strike-shortened season of 1994, when the feat would have been much more difficult due to the cancellation of a quarter of the season).

Most 30-30 seasons come from players who play the outfield, particularly left and right field. However, several center fielders have enjoyed 30-30 seasons, including Willie Mays, Dale Murphy, Grady Sizemore, Preston Wilson, and Carlos Beltran. The remaining breakdown is as follows: first baseman (2) (Joe Carter, Jeff Bagwell); shortstop (4) (Barry Larkin, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins, Hanley Ramirez); third baseman (3) (David Wright, Tommy Harper, Howard Johnson). The only players to record a 30-30 season at second base are Alfonso Soriano, before he moved to his current position of left field, and Brandon Phillips. (Tommy Harper and Ron Gant had previously played 2B earlier in their careers). There has not been a 30-30 season recorded by a player who predominately plays catcher or pitcher, with the closest being Ivan Rodriguez, a catcher who hit 35 home runs and stole 25 bases in 1999, when he was named the American League Most Valuable Player.

There have been 52 30-30 seasons by 32 different players. Barry and Bobby Bonds account for 10 of those seasons.

There have been three seasons in which four separate players recorded 30-30 seasons. The first was by|1987 (Joe Carter, Eric Davis, Howard Johnson, and Darryl Strawberry). The second was by|1996 (Dante Bichette, Barry Bonds, Ellis Burks, and Barry Larkin). The last occurrence was in by|1997 (Jeff Bagwell, Bonds, Raúl Mondesí, and Larry Walker). The last time a player did not record a 30-30 season was by|1994 - the season shortened by the player's strike. The closest player was Barry Bonds, who finished with 37 home runs and 29 stolen bases (112 games), while Sammy Sosa had a shot with 25 home runs and 22 steals (105 games). During the shortened by|1981 season, Andre Dawson finished with 24 home runs and 26 steals in 103 games. The last "full" season without a 30-30 player was by|1986.

The players with the most 30-30 seasons are Bobby Bonds and his son Barry with 5 each. The only other players with more than 2 are Alfonso Soriano with 4, and Howard Johnson with 3. Players with two 30-30 seasons: Willie Mays, Ron Gant, Sammy Sosa, Jeff Bagwell, Raúl Mondesí, Vladimir Guerrero, and Bobby Abreu. The rarer 30-40 season has been repeated only by Bobby Bonds (4), Barry Bonds (2), and Alfonso Soriano (2), the 40-30 season only by Barry Bonds (2) and Jeff Bagwell (2), and only Barry Bonds and Alfonso Soriano have had at least one 40-30 and one 30-40 season. There have been only two 30-50 seasons (Eric Davis and Barry Bonds), and no 50-30 seasons. For more elite seasons, see the 40-40 club. However, the 30-30 season has only been accomplished by two players on the same team during the same season twice: the New York Mets in by|1987 and the Colorado Rockies in by|1996.

30-30 seasons

40-40 club seasons in bold.

20-20 season

A 20-20 season (20 home runs and 20 stolen bases) is also of note, however it is much more common. A 20-20 season is usually noticed on a local level by sports writers or team officials, especially if the player is a second baseman or catcher. The only 20-20 season by a catcher was achieved by Iván Rodríguez in by|1999 with 35 home runs and 25 stolen bases; Russell Martin has been discussed as a potential 20-20 catcher, with 19 home runs and 21 stolen bases in 2007. The oldest 20-20 player, at 38-years-224-days, was Paul O'Neill in by|2001, with 21 home runs and 22 stolen bases. Gary Sheffield, who turned 39 in November 2007, broke this record with 25 home runs and 22 stolen bases for the '07 season. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sheffga01.shtml]

Nightclub

There is a nightclub in Manhattan, New York with the name "Club 30-30", however this name is presumed to be based on the address (which is 30-30), and not the grouping of baseball players. Jay-Z owns a nightclub named The 40/40 Club, also located in Manhattan. The name is based on the 40-40 club, implying a sense of prestige and exclusiveness [http://www.the4040club.com/index.cfm?MenuItemID=154&MenuGroup=Home] .

See also

* 40-40 club
* 20–20–20 club
* 300-300 club
* Baseball statistics

External links

* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hi3030c.shtml 30-30 Club at Baseball-Almanac]
* [http://www.baseballevolution.com/3030club.html The 30-30 Club at Baseball Evolution]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14417225/ MSNBC.com - Soriano Joins 30-30 Club for Fourth Time]