Alfonso Soriano Knocked on the 40-40 Club Door 3 Times Before Breaking It Down
They say third time's a charm, but for Alfonso Soriano and the 40-40 club, it was four times.
Today’s topic of discussion is Alfonso Soriano. Let’s get to it!
Alfonso Soriano’s Consistent Flirtation With the 40-40 Club
Alfonso Soriano flirted with joining the 40-40 club a few times before actually getting the job done:
• 2002: 39 homers, 41 steals
• 2003: 38 homers, 35 steals
• 2005: 36 homers, 30 steals
He finally got there in 2006 by slugging 46 homers with 41 steals in his only season with the Washington Nationals. He’s also the franchise’s single-season HR record holder.
Alfonso Soriano Home Runs to Enjoy
11/4/2001: Soriano gave the Yankees a late lead in World Series Game 7 with this eighth-inning homer. We know what happened after that, though.
8/19/2006: Soriano slugged his 40th home run of the year for the Nationals.
7/10/2007: Giving the National League a ninth-inning lead with this home run in the All-Star Game.
Blog Spotlight
As I mentioned above, Soriano is the Nationals’ single-season home run king. You can see all the players he passed on his way there by peeking at Washington’s leaderboard.
He was the fourth member of the 40-40 club, which now has six members after Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani have joined in recent years.
Soriano holds a single-season home run record at a specific position for three different teams: left field for the Nationals, second base for the Rangers, and second base for the Yankees.
The right-handed slugger hit 412 homers during his big-league career. Many of those came out of the leadoff spot. He went deep to lead off a game 13 times for New York in 2002, which was an MLB record until Kyle Schwarber broke it in 2024.
P.S. I’ve compiled some of my best blog posts into a book for a comprehensive look at each MLB team’s single-season home run leaderboard at each position. You can buy the ebook on Gumroad (or get it for free as a paid subscriber) and the paperback book on Amazon.
Single-Season HR Performances | Career HR Performances | Postseason HR Leaders | HR Derby Performances
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The HR leader at three different positions for three different teams? That's a crazy stat -- and an awesome trivia question!
His bat speed was unsurpassed and speed was impeccable. though he was not good at defense. I always enjoyed him gracefully swing that Fred Flinstone sized club. He was such an exciting player to watch. Two Soriano moments that I thought I'd mention: in 2004 becoming the first Texas Ranger to go 6 for 6 in a game vs. the Tigers and at the tail end of his career in his second tour of duty with the Yankees in August 2013 driving in 18 runs in four games. On a personal note, the HR in the eight inning of game 7 was blissful but the bottom of the ninth was devitalizing. As my 10 year-old self my whole world came crashing down after the single by Luis Gonzalez. Also on a personal note a pinstriped Soriano jersey was the first jersey i ever owned in 2003. When I was 11,12 seeing him and Jeter at the middle of the infield at Yankee Stadium was like seeing deities. It's amazing how we relate baseball to so many important moments in our lives whether it's for better or for worse. Similar to how we relate music to moments in our lives. He also would fit great in today's game because he was a power hitter that struck out alot and of course today strikeouts are so acceptable. And it took Soriano four years to knock on the 40-40 door but if he played 3 more seasons he could of walked on Cooperstown's door. 3 more years of 20 HR's, 70 RBI's and 120 hits would of summated career numbers of 472 home runs, 1,369 RBI's and 2,455 hits. That might have been good enough for the HOF.