THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL August 6: Jose Canseco joins the 30-30 Club

Say what you will about Jose Canseco’s cartoon muscles, blatant steroid use and off-the-field antics, but the Oakland Athletics outfielder was a dynamic and exciting player early in his career who was always fun to watch at the plate.

But the massive slugger’s size — 6’4” and 240 pounds — belied his speed, and on this day in béisbol, August 6, 1988, the Cuban-born Canseco became the 11th player to join the exclusive 30-30 Club: 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in one season.

He already had 31 homers on the year when he stole second in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win against the Mariners. 

Canseco, then 23 and in his fourth season with the A’s, would go on to win the 1988 American League MVP award as he led Oakland to the World Series (a loss against the Dodgers) with a Major League-leading 42 HR and 124 RBI. 

He’d also steal 40 bases later that year to become baseball’s first 40-40 man — a feat Canseco predicted he’d do before the season.

The other members of that club: Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Ronald Acuña Jr. (who had a 40-70 season in 2023), and Shohei Ohtani, who raised the bar considerably in 2024 as the only player in the 50-50 club, with 54 homers and 59 steals.

 

Sportcasting, LatinoBaseball illustration