Seeing 20/20

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DOUGHBOYS
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Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Seeing 20/20

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Sun Apr 14, 2019 8:15 am

From 1955 to 1960, Willie Mays had six consecutive 20-20 years.
Back then, 20-20 wasn't a thing.
Everybody just knew that Mays was the best player in baseball.
Mays didn't just barely qualify for 20-20, he blew the doors off 20-20. Here are his seasons...

1955- 51/24
1956- 36/40
1957- 35/38
1958- 29/31
1959- 34/27
1960- 29/25

Extraordinary.
Something happened in 1959 that had never happened in baseball before. Again, there was hardly a mention.
There was no fantasy baseball and certainly anybody caring about the 20/20 achievement.
In 1959, Orlando Cepeda, Mays teammate, hit 27 home runs and stole 23 bases.
The first time teammates had 20/20 years.

Four years later, Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson would have 20/20 years.
Pinson, maybe the most underrated player in baseball history, would have five 20/20 seasons.
For Robinson, it was one of three 20/20 seasons.
In between 1959 and 1963, a player made baseball fans more aware of the stolen base.
In 1962, Maury Wills set off to break a record held by the great Ty Cobb.
Cobb's 96 steals had been a well-known record. It was recorded by Cobb when the stolen base was an integral part of baseball.
Wills brought the stolen base back with fury.
Stadium keepers, especially in San Francisco, would over water the base paths between first and second to slow Wills down.
Wills was undeterred.
He would steal 104 bases.
How highly regarded was Wills achievement?
Here are the roto lines of Mays, Robinson, and Wills for 1962....

Mays- .304/130/49/141/18
Robinson- .342/134/39/136/18
Wills- .299/130/6/48/104

It was Wills who won the Most Valuable Player award in the National League.

20/20 teammates would not happen again in the 50's or 60's.
In 1970, the unlikely duo of Reggie Jackson and Campy Campaneris would be 20/20 teammates.
Jackson being more noted for the long ball. Campaneris, the AL stolen base wizard.
It would happen twice more during the 70's.
The Angels in '77 had Don Baylor and Bobby Bonds pull the trick.
Then, Bonds teamed with Toby Harrah (of all players) in Texas.
Bobby Bonds would be a charter member of the fantasy baseball Hall of Fame.
Vada Pinson, Alfonso Soriano, Bobby Abreu, and Carlos Beltran possibly joining him.
Bobby Bonds would have an incredible run of nine of ten seasons with 20/20 stats.
Five of those seasons, 30/30 years.
The only season in which a 20/20 did not happen was when he was injured.
In that season, he would finish with a mere 10/30 in just 99 games.

In the 80's the HR/SB became a thing.
Jose Canseco in 1989 would be the talk of baseball with his 40/40 year.
In 1987, four sets of teammates would have 20/20 years.
Eric Davis and Kal Daniels with the Reds.
Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson with the Tigers.
Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke with the Pirates.
Daryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson with the Mets.
The tandems of Trammell/Gibson, Strawberry/Johnson, and later, Ken Griffey/Alex Rodriguez, would be the only teammates to have 20/20 seasons back-to-back.

With Fantasy baseball paramount in our minds, 20/20 is very much a thing.
And teammates still ring up 20/20 years.
For only the second time in baseball, we may have five years in a row with teammates having hit 20 home runs and stolen 20 bases.

2015- Paul Goldschmidt/AJ Pollock
2016- Paul Goldschmidt/ Jean Segura
2017- Mookie Betts/Andrew Benintendi
2018- Jose Ramirez/ Francisco Lindor and Trevor Story/Ian Desmond

There are many teammates in 2019 who are off to good starts and have a chance to join the list...

Austin Meadows/Tommy Pham
Christian Yelich/Lorenzo Cain
Heck, even Javy Baez/Jason Heyward
Or, it could be a duo from nowhere.
No matter, it'll be interesting tracking these players as our season progresses.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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