Eric Thames (37),스포츠토토 who recently announced his retirement from playing, is considered one of the best foreign hitters of all time as a player who set a unique record in the KBO league.

The moment when Thames shined the most on the Korean stage was certainly in 2015. Thames played in 142 games and left unbelievable records with a batting average of .381, 47 homers, 140 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. His 47 homers are also amazing, but he has 40 of them including stolen bases. The birth of a hero who first achieved the 40 home run-40 stolen base club, which had never been done before in the KBO league. It was only natural that he would win the regular season MVP.

At that time, after joining the 20 home run-20 steal club, Thames showed interest in the 40-40 club to the extent of asking reporters, “Has there been any players in the KBO league who have joined the 40-40 club?” And finally, on October 2nd, against Incheon SK, he walked on base in the top of the 3rd inning and succeeded in stealing 2nd base, filling up his 40th base steal, building a golden tower of joining the 40-40 club for the first time ever.

A long time has passed since then, but no player has yet reproduced Thames’ record. Even members of the 30 home run-30 stolen base club did not appear. Last year, LG Oh Ji-hwan was the only player to join the 20-20 club. The last 30-30 club of domestic players has not recorded a single player since Hyundai Park Jae-hong in 2000.

In the KBO League, there is an immortal record that appeared in the early days of the pros. For example, MBC Baek In-cheon’s batting average (.412), which was born in the first year of the pro, and Sammi Jang Myeong-bu’s 30 wins in 1983 are those. In particular, Jang Myung-bu’s record of 30 wins, 16 losses, 6 saves, and an average ERA of 2.36 by throwing 427⅓ innings is considered a record that no one can reproduce. In modern baseball, where the division of labor for pitchers has taken place, there is no reason or reason to throw like Jang Myeong-bu.

In fact, in terms of difficulty, it can be said that Jang Myung-bu’s 30 wins are much more difficult than Thames’ 40-40 club, but looking at the recent trend, Thames’ 40-40 is also likely to remain an immortal record.

First of all, there seems to be no reason to demand 40 stolen bases from a big hitter who has the ability to hit 40 home runs. In 2020, KT Mel Rojas Jr., the last 40 home run hitter in the KBO League, hit 47 homers and recorded no stolen bases. Is there any reason for a hitter who boasts tremendous productivity with 47 homers and 135 RBIs to steal bases?

In addition, recently, the focus is on ‘baseball advancing one more base’ rather than stealing bases that require a lot of physical strength, so it is difficult to see players who record 40 steals, let alone the 40-40 club. KIA Park Chan-ho, who became the king of stolen bases last year, was the only player to record more than 40 stolen bases with 42 stolen bases.

In fact, the 40-40 club is not a rare record only in Korea. Even in the Major League, which boasts a long history, it has disappeared since Alfonso Soriano in 2006, with only four records in its career. There is not a single member of the 40-40 club in Japanese professional baseball.