As part – an immense, electrifying part – of the 1971 Giants push to an NL West crown, Bobby Bonds made his first All-Star Game, picked up his first Gold Glove and finished fourth in MVP voting. The 25-year-old also finished in the top-seven in the NL in both home runs (with 33) and steals (with 26). And that’s, really, where a certain story picks up some momentum.
Bonds’ 1971 season was his fourth big league campaign, a start to a career made so compelling by his dual assaults over outfield fences and on the basepaths. 100 home runs by the conclusion of that fourth year, 135 steals, too. The first player in MLB history to claim triple-digits in both categories when season number four was in the books. Only one player since then has matched this feat: Mets right fielder Darryl Strawberry, whose own magnetic brand of offense (108 homers, 100 stolen bases in four years) had New York glowing in the mid-1980s. No one else has joined these two, although a few others have flirted with the required numbers. Mike Trout ended his fourth season with 98 homers and 102 steals. Back in 1989, Barry Bonds closed the back cover on his fourth year with 117 steals and 84 longballs. Eric Davis flew past the stolen base requirement (156) after four seasons, but couldn’t quite launch enough balls out of the park (he hit 82).
So here we are, at just about the two-third mark to the 2025 season, and lo, and behold, the two-man club has a really good chance of doubling in size. Over in the Pacific Northwest, Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez flies and soars with 106 stolen bases and 95 homers as his fourth year nears its conclusion. Smack dab in the middle of the map, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. is even closer to hitting the tape on the 100-100 in the first four years feat, with 96 round-trippers to accompany his 137 thefts.
Julio Rodríguez singled, homered and stole a base to help propel the Mariners to a 4-2 win over the Angels. The fourth-year center fielder is now at 15 home runs and 20 steals for the season, closing the gap toward his fourth 20-20 line. If he gets there, he’ll be the first* player in history to go 20-20 in every one of his first four campaigns.
*Unless Bobby Witt, Jr. gets there first. The Royals shortstop has 14 homers and 27 steals in 2025, after having his own trio of 20-20 campaigns in his first three seasons.
Rodríguez & Witt Year-by Year
2022 Rodríguez 28 HR & 25 SB
2022 Witt 20 HR & 30 SB
2023 Rodríguez 32 HR & 37 SB
2023 Witt 30 HR & 49 SB
2024 Rodríguez 20 HR & 24 SB
2024 Witt 32 HR & 31 SB
2025 Rodríguez 15 HR & 20 SB
2025 Witt 14 HR & 27 SB
Charlie Morton (6.2 IP, 3 R) picked up his sixth win of the year as the Orioles defeated the Guardians.
~Morton is the second pitcher in the franchise’s history to be in an age-41 or older season and record at least a half-dozen victories, following Satchel Paige and his 12-10 season (as a 45/46-year-old) for the 1952 Browns. At five wins, Morton had been tied with Eddie Plank, who was 5-6 for the 1917 Browns.
~Morton’s line included a hit batter – the 195th time in his career he’s plunked an opponent. There are only four pitchers in history who have hit more batsmen in their time, with the most recent one – Walter Johnson – having concluded his career in 1927. Morton also sticks out among the leaders for the relative few innings he’s needed to compile all those bruised batters.
Most Hit Batters, All-Time
| Pitcher | Hit Batters | Years | Innings Pitched |
| Gus Weyhing | 277 | 1887-1901 | 4,337.0 |
| Chick Fraser | 219 | 1896-1909 | 3,364.0 |
| Pink Hawley | 210 | 1892-1901 | 3,012.0 |
| Walter Johnson | 205 | 1907-1927 | 5,914.1 |
| Charlie Morton | 195 | 2008-2025 | 2,221.0 |
~Morton has plunked nine batters this season – tied for eighth in the Majors. One more gets him double-digits in the category for the 12th time. He’s already produced the most double-digit seasons, with his 11 ahead of the 10 from these five hurlers: the already referenced Weyhing and Fraser, Don Drysdale, Randy Johnson and Tim Wakefield.
Eric Lauer allowed a run over eight innings and pocketed the win as Toronto won for the 15th time in July – this one an 11-4 victory over Detroit. The success this month, as measured by Toronto’s .789 winning percentage – is threatening to stand as the very most the club has ever experienced in any monthly split. The top (completed) marks look like this:
.778 August of 2015
.760 May of 1984
.759 September/October of 1988
.731 July of 1999
.731 September/October of 2003
~Toronto’s surge – and this latest victory – has them now within a half-game of the Brewers for the best record in the Majors (Toronto is 61-42, Milwaukee is 61-41). The franchise has never had the best mark at season’s end.
The Blue Jays’ win saw six different players produce an extra-base hit, with Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. contributing a double – the 198th of his career and 377th extra-base hit he’s had in the big leagues. The tally in the latter category stands as the 41st most in history for any player through his age-26 season, with two of the three names directly ahead of him shining brighter than most – Babe Ruth (379) and Willie Mays (381; also Sherry Magee’s tally). The Blue Jays’ first baseman has already passed his father in this age-specific look, as the Expos Vladimir Guerrero had 368 when his age-26 season in 2001 came to a close.
Sonny Gray (5.0 IP, 11 H, 7 R), the beneficiary of a rolling offense, picked up his 10th win in a 9-7 Cardinals victory over the Padres.
~Gray is the fourth Cardinals pitcher in the last 50 seasons to surrender at least 11 hits and at least seven runs and still claim a win, after Silvio Martínez (1979), Bob Sykes (1980) and Adam Wainwright (2016). Dating back to 1901, Redbirds hurlers are now 62-324 when being so generous with the hits and runs allowed.
~Gray has had a tough go of things in his past two appearances, surrendering nine runs on 11 hits in the outing before this one. The Modern Era has seen 25 examples of a Cardinals hurler suffering through back-to-back (or back-to-back-to-back) appearances featuring at least 11 hits and seven runs allowed, with 22 of the 25 taking place between 1901 and 1932. Aside from Gray, the only others to deal with this misfortune since then are Howie Pollet in 1950 and Mike Maroth in 2007.
In the Athletics’ win over the Astros, Nick Kurtz doubled twice and Tyler Soderstrom added one two-base hit. Both of the youngsters are nearing 40 extra-base hits for the year, with the 22-year-old Kurtz at 38 and the 23-year-old Soderstrom at 35. This A’s franchise can look back and discover three occasions when a pair of teammates in their age-23 or younger seasons each produced at least 40 extra-base hits. It first happened in 1909, when future Hall of Famers Eddie Collins and Home Run Baker managed the achievement. Then in 1965, Bert Campaneris and Ken Harrelson did it. 1987’s bashing duo of Mark McGwire and José Canseco then rounded out the collection.
~Kurtz has come to the plate 265 times and is slugging .622. You can make a fun list by using Kurtz’s standards and looking backward …
All Leagues: 300+ PA, .600+ SLG, Age-22 or Younger Season
1890s Joe Kelley (1894)
1920s Wilson Redus* (1927), Willie Wells* (1927), Jimmie Foxx (1929), Mel Ott (1929)
1930s Jimmie Foxx (1930), Joe DiMaggio (1937), Ted Williams (1939)
1940s Ted Williams (1941)
1950s Eddie Mathews (1953, 1954)
1960s Boog Powell (1964)
1990s Álex Rodríguez (1996)
2000s Albert Pujols (2001)
2010s Giancarlo Stanton (2012), Bryce Harper (2015), Yordan Alvarez (2019)
2020s Fernando Tatis, Jr. (2021), Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (2021)
*Playing in the Negro Leagues
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.