Rookies with 20/20 seasons

Did you hear the stat about how Elly De La Cruz is the player to reach 10 HR and 20 SB the fastest ever?

I’m not a fan of quirky combinations like that. I’d rather hear about who is the quickest to 10/10 or 20/20.

Stathead.com can’t crunch those numbers right now (the server keeps timing out). Instead, I looked up which rookies had 20/20 seasons. There are 14 players.

Currently Elly has ten home runs and twenty stolen bases. Thus, he’ll need ten more home runs to reach 20/20. The Reds have only 36 games left this year. It took him 50 games to get 10 HR. Maybe he’ll go on a home run binge? Good luck. He hasn’t had a home run in his past 14 games. It looks like he won’t be getting to 20/20 in his rookie season.

Who are the 14 rookies to get 20/20?

Year	Place	Player	HR	SB
2023	TBD	Corbin Carroll	21	38
2022	ROY-1	Julio Rodríguez	28	25
2022	ROY-4	Bobby Witt	20	30
2021	ROY-1	Randy Arozarena	20	20
2017	ROY-2	Andrew Benintendi	20	20
2012	ROY-1	Mike Trout	30	49
2007	ROY-4	Chris Young	32	27
1999	ROY-1	Carlos Beltrán	22	27
1997	ROY-1	Nomar Garciaparra	30	22
1995	ROY-1	Marty Cordova	24	20
1987	ROY-5	Devon White	24	32
1987		Ellis Burks	20	27
1977	ROY-2	Mitchell Page	21	42
1966	ROY-1	Tommie Agee	22	44

Hitting 20/20 pretty much guarantees you a Rookie of the Year vote. However, look how Ellis Burks didn’t get any Rookie of the Year votes in his 1987 campaign with 20 HR 27 SB.

So far no 20/20 rookie has reached the Hall of Fame. Of course, Mike Trout is going to change that. Maybe even some of the other recent guys like Julio Rodriguez. Time will tell. But from 1966 to 2007 there has been eight rookies to get 20/20. None are in the Hall. This 20/20 rookie stat doesn’t really punch your ticket.

Which rookie reached 20/20 the fastest?

Year	Team	Player	Games to reach 20/20 in rookie season
2012	LAA	Mike Trout	88
2023	ARI	Corbin Carroll	94
2022	SEA	Julio Rodríguez	107
2007	ARI	Chris Young	112
1987	CAL	Devon White	116
1987	BOS	Ellis Burks	122
1977	OAK	Mitchell Page	122
2022	KCR	Bobby Witt	123
1997	BOS	Nomar Garciaparra	123
1999	KCR	Carlos Beltrán	133
1995	MIN	Marty Cordova	136
2021	TBR	Randy Arozarena	141
1966	CHW	Tommie Agee	148
2017	BOS	Andrew Benintendi	151

Move aside Elly, another rookie is breaking out

All this talk about Elly De La Cruz, but check out Corbin Caroll this year. Only 94 games to reach 20/20. That’s a National League record!

So sad that Elly De La Cruz won’t be reaching this 20/20 group in his rookie season. It’s rather funny that some of the media is making such a big deal out of his 10/20 achievement.

Quoting from the Sports Illustrated article, “Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds Surpasses Barry Bonds in the Baseball History Books“:

And any time you are mentioned with Bonds in baseball history, you're in esteemed company.

He is one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history, hitting a major league-best 762 career home runs and driving in 1,996. He also stole 514 bases, was a 14-time All-Star, an eight-time Gold Glover and a seven-time MVP.

So are we saying that Elly De La Cruz will be going on a steroid binge half-way through his career?

Also, note that Barry Bonds didn’t have a 20-20 season his rookie year. He ended up with 16 HR and 36 stolen bases.

Let me back-track. I don’t mind random numbers like the quickest to 10/20. It’s fun to track stats. But I don’t like making the impression that some player is the best ever because he reached a random number set. Especially when the random number set is not taken within context of other performances. 14 other players reached 20/20. Elly probably won’t.

Update: Anthony Volpe will likely get 20/20 in his rookie season this year. He’s currently at 17 HR and 20 stolen bases. He’s played in every single game this year for the Yankees. 125 so far. That’s a HR every 7.35 games. To get three more home runs means he needs about 21 games. The Yankees have 37 games left.