Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. received a shoutout from seven-time National League MVP Barry Bonds for becoming the fifth member of the 40-40 club.
«Congratulations (Ronald Acuña Jr.) for joining the 40/40 club,» Bonds wrote on Instagram. «And also writing your own club… 40/70 and still counting, you are a BAD Boy stay healthy and God Bless you.» Acuña’s response was immediate and he thanked Bonds for his gesture.
Acuña joined the exclusive club with a leadoff homer off Washington Nationals pitcher Patrick Corbin on Friday night.
The 25-year-old got to 40 stolen bases on July 3 and has increased his total to an MLB-high 68 through Friday’s games. He is the first player in MLB history with at least 40 homers and 60 steals in a single season.
«It’s incredible,» Acuña said through an interpreter about hitting the milestone after the Braves’ 9-6 win on Friday. «You think of how many players have played in the big leagues, and my name is alone. But I’m sure somebody will break that record, too.»
Acuña is the first player with a 40-40 season since Alfonso Soriano in 2006. José Canseco (1988), Bonds (1996) and Alex Rodriguez (1998) are the others who have accomplished the feat.
From that group of previous 40-40 seasons, Canseco is the only player who won an MVP award. Bonds, Rodriguez and Soriano all finished outside of the top four in voting and none of them received a single first-place vote.
Acuña could add an MVP award to his trophy case this season, though there is plenty of competition in the NL. Acuña, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are all within 0.7 wins above replacement of each other, per FanGraphs.
Acuña and Freeman are within three points of each other in batting average (.337 to .334) and four points in on-base percentage (.415 to .411). Acuña and Betts are only separated by one homer (40 to 39) and eight points in slugging percentage (.597 to .589).
The Braves have the best record in baseball (99-55) with a lead of 4.5 games over the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL.