In a season full of ups and downs, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz is quietly chasing one of baseball’s rarest achievements that would put him in legendary company.
With every towering home run and stolen base, Cruz is inching closer to a feat that only one Pirates player has ever accomplished, per Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan.
Cruz has positioned himself to become the second Pirate to record a 30/30 season—Barry Bonds was the first,
Bonds achieved the elusive milestone—30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season — three times in Pittsburgh, most recently in 1992. Since then, no one wearing black and gold has come close to replicating that balance of power and speed.
Now, in 2025, Cruz is on his way.
Cruz’s Monster Weekend Is A Positive Sign For Pirates
A unicorn at shortstop and some time in the outfield, the 6-foot-7 Cruz has already surpassed double digits in both home runs and steals—a pace that lines him up to reach or exceed the coveted 30/30 threshold by season’s end.
His journey hasn’t been easy, though. Cruz started the season hot for the Pirates, blasting eight home runs in his first 25 games. Then came a May slump, compounded by lower back tightness that sidelined him for several days.
But the power has returned—and with it, the speed. Cruz’s two-homer performance last Friday night marked the first multi-homer game of his career and included the hardest-hit home run ever recorded by a Pirate in the Statcast era (117.9 mph).
The next day, he delivered again—tripling home the game-winning run in a 2-1 victory over the Brewers, and honoring a promise to a 10-year-old fan by giving away the bat that helped deliver the win.
The History Of 30/30 Campaigns In Major League Baseball
Across Major League Baseball, only a handful of players manage to reach both 30 homers and 30 steals in a single season. It requires not only elite tools but health, consistency and opportunity—the kind of season where everything clicks at once. Bonds did it. A-Rod did it. Acuna Jr. and Soriano, too. If Cruz joins that list, he immediately becomes part of baseball’s highest tier.
For the Pirates, it would be a symbolic moment—a new era built not on nostalgia, but on performance. The last time Pittsburgh had a player like Cruz threaten league-wide history was, well, when Bonds was patrolling left field at Three Rivers Stadium.
Cruz doesn’t have to be Bonds to make an impact. But joining him in the 30/30 club would be a statement that he’s here for the long haul.
With over 100 games still to play, Cruz’s path will require continued production and not losing his recent aggressiveness on the basepaths. But if he keeps trending as he is, there’s a very real possibility that he’ll etch his name next to Bonds’ in the record books.
In a season where every at-bat seems to bring something electric, Cruz is writing his own chapter in Pirates history. He currently sits with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases after a productive Memorial Day weekend.
Pirates’ Oneil Cruz Could Join Barry Bonds In Exclusive Club