50-50 wasn't Ohtani's only power-speed feat in '24

Shohei Ohtani accomplished an unprecedented feat in 2024 by establishing the 50-50 Club, ultimately finishing with 54 home runs and 59 stolen bases.

But that wasn't the only way that Ohtani made history with his combination of power and speed.

Rather than focusing on a player's homer and steal totals, let's talk about how they ranked in their league, which has the benefit of folding in the context of the offensive environment in a given season. (Obviously, at certain times in baseball history, it's been a lot easier to pile up big numbers. The recent rule changes that have made life easier for base stealers are but one example.)

Ohtani's 54 homers won him the NL title, while his 59 steals put him second to the Reds' Elly De La Cruz (67). MLB-wide, Ohtani ranked second in both homers (behind the Yankees' Aaron Judge's 58) and steals. That makes him just the third player to finish top-two in MLB in both categories -- and the first since a pair of legendary Hall of Famers did it more than 110 years ago.

But even looking at just the AL or NL leaderboards, finishing at or near the top in both homers and steals is extremely rare. Only three players in the Modern Era (since 1900) have led the AL or NL in both categories, and none since 1932. (See below for the list.) All three of them did it well before integration, night games or expansion, when each league consisted of just eight teams.

If we expand our scope to finishing in the top three in both, there are still only 13 other players who have done it in the Modern Era. To give you an idea of how difficult that list is to crack, it does not include Ronald Acuña Jr., who, despite establishing the 40-70 Club in 2023, finished fourth in the NL in homers to go with his stolen base title.

Here is a closer look at this exclusive group of power-speed threats:

Led league in both

Chuck Klein, 1932 Phillies
38 HR (T-1st in NL), 20 SB (1st)

Klein stole only 59 bases in his Hall of Fame career outside of 1932, so his 20 swipes that year were something of an outlier. (He also was caught nine times). It’s also fair to say that as a left-handed batter, Klein benefited tremendously from playing his home games at the Baker Bowl, which measured only about 280 feet down the right-field line. During his 1932 NL MVP campaign, he launched 29 of his 38 dingers at home, where he slashed an absurd .423/.464/.799 (compared with .266/.340/.481 on the road). This was the third of Klein’s four NL home run crowns in a five-year span, although he shared it with the Giants’ Mel Ott.

Ty Cobb, 1909 Tigers
9 HR (1st in AL), 76 SB (1st)

Welcome to the Dead Ball Era. This was one of Cobb’s six stolen base titles but the only time he led his league in homers -- and none of those actually went over the fence. Yep, that’s nine inside-the-park homers. Cobb actually led the AL and NL in both categories, while also doing so in hits (216), RBIs (107), batting average (.377), OBP (.431), slugging (.517), total bases (296) and OPS+ (192).

Jimmy Sheckard, 1903 Superbas
9 HR (1st in NL), 67 SB (T-1st)

Back then, the Dodgers were actually the Brooklyn Superbas, and they hadn’t even moved into Ebbets Field yet. It was a long time ago. Sheckard enjoyed a productive, 17-year career, but this season was a little out of nowhere. In 1902 and ‘04 combined, the lefty-hitting left fielder totaled just five homers and 46 steals. But it all came together in 1903, when he batted .332.

Top three in both

Shohei Ohtani, 2024 Dodgers
54 HR (1st in NL), 59 SB (2nd)

Only the amazing baserunning exploits of De La Cruz kept Ohtani was leading the NL in both categories.

Fernando Tatis Jr., 2021 Padres
42 HR (1st in NL), 25 SB (3rd)

Some missed time didn't stop Tatis from taking the NL home run crown, but he finished seven steals behind Trea Turner.

Matt Kemp, 2011 Dodgers
39 HR (1st in NL), 40 SB (T-2nd)

Kemp just missed a 40-40 campaign and an NL MVP Award (finishing second to Ryan Braun). He was 21 steals behind NL leader Michael Bourn.

Bobby Bonds, 1977 Angels
37 HR (T-2nd in AL), 41 SB (T-3rd)

Although his son would come to overshadow him, Bobby Bonds was a tremendous power-speed threat in his own right.

Hank Aaron, 1963 Braves
44 HR (1st in NL), 31 SB (2nd)

Aaron is remembered far more for his slugging, but he did steal 240 career bases, with 15 or more in each season from 1960-68.

Frank Robinson, 1961 Reds
37 HR (3rd in NL), 22 SB (3rd)

Like his fellow Hall of Famer Aaron, Robinson was a renowned power hitter who nonetheless stole over 200 career bases.

Willie Mays, 1955 Giants
51 HR (1st in NL), 24 SB (2nd)

Mays won four home run titles and four stolen base titles, but they didn’t line up in the same year. He was awfully close in 1955, finishing one steal behind the Braves’ Bill Bruton.

Goose Goslin, 1930 Senators/Browns
37 HR (T-3rd in AL), 17 SB (T-3rd)

The Hall of Fame outfielder was traded from Washington to St. Louis in the middle of the season and had 30 homers and 14 steals there.

Tony Lazzeri, 1927 Yankees
18 HR (3rd in AL), 22 SB (T-3rd)

Teammates Babe Ruth (60) and Lou Gehrig (47) made Lazzeri a distant third in homers.

Ken Williams, 1922 Browns
39 HR (1st in AL), 37 SB (2nd)

This was the only 30-30 season in AL or NL history until Mays in 1956.

George Sisler, 1919-20 Browns
1920: 19 HR (2nd in AL), 42 SB (2nd)
1919: 10 HR (T-2nd in AL), 28 SB (2nd)

Sisler also hit .407 in 1920, and his 257 hits stood as the single-season record until Ichiro broke it in 2004.

Ty Cobb, 1907/1910-12 Tigers
1912: 7 HR (3rd in AL), 61 SB (3rd)
1911: 8 HR (T-2nd in AL), 83 SB (1st)
1910: 8 HR (T-2nd in AL), 65 SB (2nd)
1907: 5 HR (T-2nd in AL), 53 SB (1st)

Again, things were a bit different in the Dead Ball Era.

Red Murray, 1908 Cardinals/1909 Giants
1909: 7 HR (1st in NL), 48 SB (2nd)
1908: 7 HR (3rd in NL), 48 SB (2nd)

In between these seasons, St. Louis traded Murray to the Giants along with men named “Bugs” and “Admiral.”

Honus Wagner, 1908 Pirates
10 HR (2nd in NL), 53 SB (1st)

This was Wagner’s fifth stolen base title, but he never led in homers.