MLB Immaculate Grid Study Guide for Statistical Categories

Posted on by Matt Musico
mlb immaculate grid study guide

Last Updated on April 10, 2024 by Matt Musico

MLB players are a creature of habit. That’ll happen when you embark on a 162-game marathon over a period of six months. But for many baseball fans, we now have a new daily ritual that won’t stop once the final out of the World Series is recorded. While Sports Reference has created the Immaculate Grid for multiple sports, the baseball version is the OG. So, I thought it’d be a good idea to put together an MLB Immaculate Grid study guide of sorts.

How this is used is obviously completely up to you. If you’d like to use it while you’re playing the game, it’s certainly within your right to do so. But I’ll be using it as a way to brush up on various parts of MLB history so I’m ready to (hopefully) crush the grid each morning when it gets released at 9 a.m. ET.

Editor’s Note: We’re proud to partner with Baseballism so you can get 15% off your next order! Use this link or DINGERS15 at checkout to get your discount!

MLB Immaculate Grid Study Guide

40-Homer Seasons in MLB History

Watching a player hit 40 home runs in a season doesn’t feel like an uncommon occurrence. But in the grand scheme of the game’s history, it really is. Professional baseball has been around in some form for 150-ish years. When looking at American League and National League performers, there have been a total of 360 different occurrences of a 40-homer season.

But who hit them? And for what team were they playing for when it happened? Those are the details you need to study up on for the next Immaculate Grid. We’ve got you covered with this rundown of every team’s 40-homer seasons.

READ: 40 Home Run Seasons: A Look at 363 Occurrences, Team-By-Team

The 300 Home Run Club

Entering the 2024 season, there are 159 player who have slugged at least 300 home runs during their career. Six of those players joined the club in 2023. There will be more to join momentarily, too. Get a rundown of the entire 300 Home Run Club members, along with the teams they played for and the number of homers they slugged at each stop.

READ: Everything You Need to Know About the 300 Home Run Club

Players Who Have Won a Silver Slugger Award

Look, home runs are our favorite thing in the world. It’s why this website exists in the first place. But we go a little beyond that here. We appreciate all sorts of baseball history, especially with the goal of putting our best foot forward during the next Immaculate Grid.

The Silver Slugger Award has been around since 1980. There have been 435 different players who have won the award at least once. In the same way we covered 40-homer seasons, we took a team-by-team look at all the winners, and the year in which they took home the hardware.

READ: Silver Slugger Award: Team-By-Team Look at 435 Winners

All of MLB’s MVP Award Winners

MLB’s MVP Award has taken on a few different forms throughout baseball history. Between 1911 and 1914, players were awarded with the Chalmers Award. Then, there was a League Award handed out by the American League between 1922 and 1929.

The MVP Award as we currently know it has been getting handed out to players on an annual basis since 1931. More than 150 players have won an MVP Award at some point in their MLB career. We took a team-by-team look at all the winners and when they earned the hardware, along with some pertinent stats.

READ: MLB MVP Award: Team-By-Team Look at 160 Winners

All of MLB’s Cy Young Award Winners

Did you know that the Cy Young Award wasn’t always given to one pitcher in each league? Between 1956 and 1966, only one hurler in all of baseball had this honor bestowed upon them. But since 1967, the Award has been handed out in the way we see it today: one for an AL pitcher and another for an NL pitcher.

As we’ve done with other topics, click the below link to get a team-by-team look at Cy Young Award winners since its inception.

READ: Cy Young Award: Team-By-Team Look at 122 Winners

All of MLB’s Rookie of the Year Award Winners

The Rookie of the Year Award has been handed out at the end of each season since 1947. It initially was given to just one player each year. But after a couple of seasons, that soon changed to being handed out to one rookie in each of the AL and NL.

Overall, 149 different players have won this honor. Click the link below to get a team-by-team look at Rookie of the Year Award winners.

READ: Rookie of the Year Award: Team-By-Team Look at 149 Winners

Team-by-Team Single-Season RBI Leaders

We’re starting a long project that will go through each MLB team’s single-season RBI leaders, similar to what we did with our single-season home run leaderboards. Each team will be listed below once it’s complete:

The 500 Home Run Club

Entering the 500-homer club is an extraordinary achievement that every power hitter dreams about. At this moment, only 28 hitters have surpassed this number in their respective careers. Here are the members, the number of homers they hit, and the teams they played for during their time in the big leagues.

If you’re looking for guys in the 500-homer club with most teams played for, take a long look at Gary Sheffield (eight), Jim Thome (six), Manny Ramirez (five), and Frank Robinson (five).

MLB Immaculate Grid Study Guide

The 3,000-Hit Club

Similar to the 500-homer club, reaching 3,000 hits is the holy grail for all hitters. Only 33 players have reached this milestone. Here are the members, the number of hits they recorded, and the teams they played for during their respective big-league tenures.

The three players who suited up for the most teams include Rickey Henderson (nine!), Dave Winfield (six), and Eddie Murray (five).

30-Homer, 30-Steal Seasons

MLB’s new rule changes that went into effect for the 2023 season will likely make the 30-30 club a little less exclusive than it’s been previously. However, it’s still a special accomplishment when you can combine speed and power like this in one season.

There have been a total of 63 different 30-30 campaigns, which have been accomplished by 44 players. Here are those players, the years in which they did it, how many homers and steals they racked up, and the team they played for when it happened.

The two names you should pay extra attention to? Bobby Bonds and Alfonso Soriano. Bonds put together five different 30/30 seasons with at least four teams (he split one year with two). Meanwhile, Soriano accomplished this feat four times with three different squads.

  • Ken Williams
    • 39 homers and 37 steals in 1922 for the Cardinals
  • Willie Mays
    • 36 homers and 40 steals in 1956 for the Giants
    • 35 homers and 38 steals in 1957 for the Giants
  • Hank Aaron
    • 44 homers and 31 steals in 1963 for the Braves
  • Bobby Bonds
    • 32 homers and 45 steals in 1969 for the Giants
    • 39 homers and 43 steals in 1973 for the Giants
    • 32 homers and 30 steals in 1975 for the Yankees
    • 37 homers and 41 steals in 1977 for the Angels
    • 31 homers and 43 steals in 1978 for the White Sox/Rangers
  • Tommy Harper
    • 31 homers and 3 steals in 1970 for the Brewers
  • Dale Murphy
    • 36 homers and 30 steals in 1983 for the Braves
  • Joe Carter
    • 32 homers and 31 steals in 1987 for the Guardians
  • Eric Davis
    • 37 homers and 50 steals in 1987 for the Reds
  • Howard Johnson
    • 36 homers and 32 steals in 1987 for the Mets
    • 36 homers and 41 steals in 1989 for the Mets
    • 38 homers and 30 steals in 1991 for the Mets
  • Darryl Strawberry
    • 39 homers and 36 steals in 1987 for the Mets
  • Jose Canseco
    • 42 homers and 40 steals in 1988 for the Athletics
  • Barry Bonds
    • 33 homers and 52 steals in 1990 for the Pirates
    • 34 homers and 39 steals in 1992 for the Pirates
    • 33 homers and 31 steals in 1995 for the Giants
    • 42 homers and 40 steals in 1996 for the Giants
    • 40 homers and 37 steals in 1997 for the Giants
  • Ron Gant
    • 32 homers and 33 steals in 1990 for the Braves
    • 32 homers and 34 steals in 1991 for the Braves
  • Sammy Sosa
    • 36 homers and 33 steals in 1993 for the Cubs
    • 36 homers and 34 steals in 1995 for the Cubs
  • Dante Bichette
    • 31 homers and 31 steals in 1996 for the Rockies
  • Ellis Burks
    • 40 homers and 32 steals in 1996 for the Rockies
  • Barry Larkin
    • 33 homers and 36 steals in 1996 for the Reds
  • Jeff Bagwell
    • 43 homers and 31 steals in 1997 for the Astros
    • 42 homers and 30 steals in 1999 for the Astros
  • Raul Mondesi
    • 30 homers and 32 steals in 1997 for the Dodgers
    • 33 homers and 36 steals in 1999 for the Dodgers
  • Larry Walker
    • 49 homers and 33 steals in 1997 for the Rockies
  • Shawn Green
    • 35 homers and 35 steals in 1998 for the Blue Jays
  • Alex Rodriguez
    • 42 homers and 46 steals in 1998 for the Mariners
  • Preston Wilson
    • 31 homers and 36 steals in 2000 for the Marlins
  • Bobby Abreu
    • 31 homers and 36 steals in 2001 for the Phillies
    • 30 homers and 40 steals in 2004 for the Phillies
  • Jose Cruz Jr.
    • 34 homers and 32 steals in 2001 for the Blue Jays
  • Vladimir Guerrero
    • 34 homers and 37 steals in 2001 for the Expos (Nationals)
    • 39 homers and 40 steals in 2002 for the Expos (Nationals)
  • Alfonso Soriano
    • 39 homers and 41 steals in 2002 for the Yankees
    • 38 homers and 35 steals in 2003 for the Yankees
    • 36 homers and 30 steals in 2005 for the Rangers
    • 46 homers and 41 steals in 2006 for the Nationals
  • Carlos Beltran
    • 38 homers and 42 steals in 2004 for the Royals/Astros
  • Brandon Phillips
    • 30 homers and 32 steals in 2007 for the Reds
  • Jimmy Rollins
    • 30 homers and 41 steals in 2007 for the Phillies
  • David Wright
    • 30 homers and 34 steals in 2007 for the Mets
  • Hanley Ramirez
    • 33 homers and 35 steals in 2008 for the Marlins
  • Grady Sizemore
    • 33 homers and 38 steals in 2008 for the Guardians
  • Ian Kinsler
    • 31 homers and 31 steals in 2009 for the Rangers
    • 32 homers and 30 steals in 2011 for the Rangers
  • Ryan Braun
    • 33 homers and 33 steals in 2011 for the Brewers
    • 41 homers and 30 steals in 2012 for the Brewers
  • Jacoby Ellsbury
    • 32 homers and 39 steals in 2011 for the Red Sox
  • Matt Kemp
    • 39 homers and 40 steals in 2011 for the Dodgers
  • Mike Trout
    • 30 homers and 49 steals in 2012 for the Angels
  • Jose Ramirez
    • 39 homers and 34 steals in 2018 for the Guardians
  • Mookie Betts
    • 32 homers and 30 steals in 2018 for the Red Sox
  • Ronald Acuña Jr.
    • 41 homers and 37 steals in 2019 for the Braves
    • 39 homers and 67 steals (so far) in 2023 for the Braves
  • Christian Yelich
    • 44 homers and 30 steals in 2019 for the Brewers
  • Cedric Mullins
    • 30 homers and 30 steals in 2021 for the Orioles
  • Julio Rodriguez
    • 31 homers and 36 steals (so far) in 2023 for the Mariners
  • Francisco Lindor
    • 30 homers and 30 steals (s0 far) in 2023 for the Mets
  • Bobby Witt Jr.
    • 30 homers and 49 steals (so far) in 2023 for the Royals

40-Homer, 40-Steal Seasons

If you skimmed the list of 30/30 players carefully, you saw there were a handful who went well above the minimum requirements for entry. Four have registered 40 homers and 40 steals in a single season: Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Alfonso Soriano.

Ronald Acuña Jr. is on the verge of being the first player to accomplish this feat since 2006. We’ve got more details on each of these performances below.

READ: MLB’s 40-40 Club: All Seasons of 40 Home Runs & 40 Stolen Bases

MLB Immaculate Grid Study Guide

What’s Still to Come

What you see above is a good start when it comes to studying up for the MLB Immaculate Grid. Based on the sheer number of options available, there’s plenty of information to digest. But obviously, the six categories covered here are just a fraction of all the categories that can pop up on any given grid.

What’s below is not an exhaustive list, but it’s on my to-do list when it comes to creating easily digestible content so you have the tools available to crush the Immaculate Grid (and no, these categories aren’t listed in any particular order):

  • Seasons with 30-plus steals
  • Seasons with 100-plus RBI
  • .300 batting average in a season
  • .300 career batting average
  • Seasons with 200-plus hits
  • All-Stars
  • Hall of Famers
  • Gold Glove winners
  • 20-win pitching seasons

There will undoubtedly be more, which I will add. But, what I just listed will keep me busy for a while. If there’s anything particular you’d find helpful from a statistical category/award/accomplishment standpoint, don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know.

Want to see some homers in person this season? Of course you do. Grab MLB tickets from our friends at Vivid Seats. And before you get to the stadium, make sure you’re decked out in the right gear. Get your favorite team’s official merch from the MLB Shop or a ‘Big Dinger Energy’ shirt from our apparel store.

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