After a disappointing season mired with many more losses than wins, the Washington Nationals finally had something to celebrate Saturday night.
Leftfielder Alfonso Soriano sprinted and slid his way into the record books, recording his 40th steal of the season. With 45 homeruns already under his belt this season, the Dominican gained entrance to the unofficial 40-40 club, where member players have achieved at least 40 steals and 40 home runs in a single season.
Soriano became only the fourth player in major league history to achieve this feat when he ran on a 2-0 pitch from Milwaukee Brewer pitcher Dave Bush after singling in the first inning. Brewers catcher Mike Rivera could not get a throw off to second, and Soriano slid in uncontested, after which he received a standing ovation from the home crowd at RFK Stadium in Washington.
Soriano narrowly missed the 40-40 cutoff in 2002 when he notched 39 dingers and 41 stolen bags as the Yankees' second baseman. His season with the Washington organization got off to a rocky start after being traded by Texas in the offseason. With his contract with the Nationals expiring after this season, Soriano will likely leave Washington to return to the American League.
The three other members of the elite 40-40 club include Jose Canseco with Oakland in 1988, Barry Bonds with San Francisco in 1996, and Alex Rodriguez with Seattle in 1998. However, given Canseco's admission of steroid use and the doping scandal currently embroiling Bonds, Soriano's achievement gains some additional weight.
While the Nats commemorate Soriano's accomplishment, division foe New York Mets also have cause to celebrate. With a 4-0 Monday night victory over the Florida Marlins, the Mets clinched the NL East title for the first time since 1988, ending the Atlanta Braves' 11-year stranglehold on the East's division title (the Braves' 14-year division championships streak includes three wins in the NL West). The Mets' 91-58 record is the best in the league, and the team is the first to guarantee itself a playoff spot in 2006.
While (at least some) New Yorkers kick back and enjoy the rest of the regular season, the West and wildcard races remain tight. The Los Angeles Dodgers enjoy a half-game lead over the San Diego Padres. L.A. split 2-2 with San Diego in a four-game series in Los Angeles over the weekend.
The Padres had the chance to take a one-and-a-half game lead Monday night when they entered the bottom of the ninth with a 9-5 lead. However, the Dodgers rattled off four consecutive solo homers to send the game to extras where they finished their comeback with another long ball, winning 11-10 in the tenth off a Nomar Garciaparra walk-off piece.
Despite trailing the Dodgers in the West as of Tuesday night, the Padres currently lead the wild card standings by one-and-a-half games over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils swept the Houston Astros over the weekend, but a loss Monday night to the Chicago Cubs denied them a chance to move within a half game.
But Philadelphia still has six games left against the Florida Marlins, who are four-and-a-half back of San Diego. If the Pads and Phils blink and the Marlins go on a hot streak to end the season, the Fish may yet slip into the last playoff spot.
In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to have all but secured their spot in the postseason. The Cards currently sit on a seven-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds. The remainder of the season features relatively soft opposition for both teams, but with no head-to-head matchups, Cincinnati would have to play their way into October while St. Louis plays its way out to swap the spots.
Although the West and wild card races remain neck-and-neck among a few teams, it is worthy to note how relatively poor their respective records are when compared to the Mets and American League teams. The wild card-leading Padres are 78-71, while the Phils are only one game over .500. To put this in perspective, the AL wild card-leading Minnesota Twins have an 88-61 record, while the Chicago White Sox, who are currently second in the race, are 84-66.
This should demonstrate that no matter which NL teams end up taking the West and wild card crowns at the end of the day, they will have plenty of work to do to overcome first the Mets and then the AL contender to take home the World Series trophy.