By David Gignilliat

Keeper League 10

Off the top of your head, name an exclusive baseball milestone.  500 homers.  Check.  300 wins.  Check.  4,000 strikeouts.  Check.  Seven no-hitters.  Check.  But what about the 40-40 club?

Of all the baseball milestones and benchmarks that are religiously celebrated by baseball fans, the 40-40 club should rank among the most exclusive.  Yet, for some strange reason, it’s not nearly as high among the pantheon of great individual baseball achievements as its difficulty merits.

If there ever was a ‘Members Only’ club in baseball, the 40-40 club would be it.  And it should come with a complimentary ‘Members Only’ jacket.

The number of players that occupy this exclusive penthouse wouldn’t even get you a five-finger discount at your local bodega.  Who fills this elite list?

Canseco. Rodriguez. Bonds. Soriano.  That’s it.

I know, I know.  A few others have come close.  Willie Mays (36-40).  Bobby Bonds (oh-so close at 39-43).  Eric Davis (37-50).  Darryl Strawberry (39-36).  A near-miss by Vladimir Guerrero (39-40).  Carlos Beltran (38-43, in two leagues no less).

In fact, the 40-40 club has such an exclusive cachet attached to it that hip-hop mogul, Jay-Z, named his ritzy Manhattan sports bar “The 40-40 Club.”

While you’re there, be sure to check out the “Girls Night Out” package offered by the Last Don of hip-hop. Now that’s big pimpin, Hovah!

Now, keep in mind all of these have occurred in the modern roto-era, though Canseco’s 1988 stats have come under closer scrutiny recently given his penchant for anabolic steroids.

Which reminds me … did anyone happen to see Jose Canseco on the World Series of Poker telecast on ESPN a few weeks back?  After he lost, it looked as though he was actually looking around the room for people to notice him and approach him.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen!!  From 40-40 to $40 buy-ins.  From tagging Madonna to tagging along with Phil Hellmuth.  Maybe he’ll have his own reality show on VH1 someday and everything will come full circle for him.  I’m rooting for him.

I don’t care what you say, I’m holding onto Canseco’s ’86 Donruss Rated Rookie card … just in case.  It’s in a safe, and somewhat nostalgic place right now, in a self-storage facility sitting inside an old Le Coq Sportif shoebox with 150 Gregg Jefferies ’88 Fleer rookie cards, some SportFlics, a few Transformers, an old pair of Vuarnet sunglasses, and some random (and poorly-written, I might add) love notes from middle school romances.

So why should a fantasy owner pay attention to a club that only has four members?

For starters – and for keepers – it’s a fraternity that just may grow in 2008.  And if you can snag one of these potential stat-stuffers for your fantasy team this season, you’re going to be really happy you did.

Since 1922, there have been 51 30-30 seasons posted by 31 different players.  Ten of them are from guys named Bonds.  Four from Soriano.  Three from the oft-overlooked Howard Johnson.  Two from Ron Gant.  Two from Bobby Abreu  Two from underachiever Raul Mondesi.  And two from another unlikely source, Jeff Bagwell.  Even Dante Bichette, Shawn Green and Jose Cruz, Jr. pledged this fraternity once.

In 2007, three fantasy studs got past the velvet rope and were let in by the muscle to the 30-30 club.  Can you name them?  I’ll give you a hint.  They’re all infielders.  They all play in the National League.  Two of them play in the NL East.  The other one’s middle name is Emil and counts Barry Larkin among his childhood heroes.

Yes, that’s right, David Wright (NYM), Jimmy Rollins (PHI) and Brandon Phillips (CIN).

So what will it take for a fantasy stud to join the 40-40 club in 2008?

First, it’s got to be a player that’s relatively young.  The older a player gets, the less likely he is to risk his career and job security by stealing bases.

Second, he’s got to play for an aggressive, station-to-station, offensive-minded team.  The manager has to be an advocate of the running game.  No Earl Weavers need apply. This makes the National League a more likely breeding ground for a 40-40 candidate.

Third, it wouldn’t hurt if the player’s team is out of the pennant race early in the season.  A player in the heart of a playoff run might not risk outs on the basepaths or by swinging for the fences.  Once a team’s season is shot, a 40-40 candidate could focus on individual stats with near impunity.  In fact, it’s a great way for a losing team to put fans in the seats.

Lastly, you’d have to avoid injury.  It’d have to be a player who plays in at least 150 games.  In recent years, 30 home runs has become almost a mundane achievement.  Even 40 dingers is a realistic goal for a lot of guys.  It’s usually the steals component of the equation that gets ‘em.  Most of the guys that put up prodigious home run totals are big, husky men.  Like Ryan Howard.  And Prince Fielder.  And while they can pound the ever-living snot out of a baseball, they’re not exactly a terror on the basepaths.

So who does that leave in the running for 2008?  Well, Wright, Phillips and Rollins stand out as obvious candidates.  Carlos Beltran and Soriano could certainly join the club under the right circumstances.  If the stars were aligned, and all the right strip clubs were open, maybe A-Rod could take another crack at it.  Even Bobby Abreu might have a shot at it.

Anyone else?  Maybe my boy, Curtis Granderson?  Or Chris Young, though he needs to work on that .237 batting average to have a shot.  And don’t sleep on Hanley Ramirez.  Speaking of sleep, my deepest 40-40 sleeper is Brewers OF Corey Hart, … though he might not even have a starting gig going into 2008.  If he hits 30-30, I’ll … I’ll “wear my sunglasses at night” … 

In between bouts of dementia, and day-dreaming about someday joining a cult, David Gignilliat is a freelance writer for the Fantasy Baseball Mafia.  His ‘Members Only’ columns explore the off-the-beaten-path, road-less-traveled, issues that keep fantasy owners staring at the ceiling, wide awake, at 3 A.M.  Like, whether an inside-the-park home run should get an extra point for ‘effort’ in H2H leagues.  He can be reached at uvadavidg@gmail.com and at his other online home, Quixotica (http://quixoticawords.blogspot.com), where he makes up silly words.