Four players in the history of baseball have hit 40 home runs and stolen 40 bases in the same season, a feat of strength and speed accomplished only by Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Soriano.
But ask Rockies cornerstone Nolan Arenado, and the third baseman believes shortstop Trevor Story has the blend of skill, work ethic and pure athleticism to someday add himself to that list. After Story’s rookie season in 2016 put him on the major league map, he emerged as an all-star last year while posting 37 homers and 27 steals.
Hence the belief by Arenado and others within the Colorado clubhouse that 2019 will be a season which will underscore Story’s emerging status as one of the premier position players in the National League.
“He could be a 30/30 guy,” Arenado said. “Honestly, he has the potential to be 40/40. Who knows if he does it this year, but he has that potential. He’s a five-tool player. The best five-tool players in the game are (Mike) Trout, Mookie (Betts), (Paul) Goldschmidt, and Story’s in that.”
The high praise is warranted coming off Story’s eye-opening 2018. After leading the National League in strikeouts in an off-kilter 2017, the 26-year-old rebounded to hit .291 with 108 RBIs. He became the first shortstop to record 40 doubles, 30 home runs and 25 stolen bases in a single season, and also had the longest home run of the Statcast era at 504 feet.
His offensive explosion — combined with flashy but reliable defense – is something the Rockies organization foresaw early on from their 2011 first-round draft pick.
“We always believed the athleticism he possessed was universally underrated because people in the game really didn’t understand the type of athlete he is,” general manager Jeff Bridich said. “Offensively, there were always a lot of strikeouts. But we were giving him credit for him being a high school draft pick, and us pushing him to (higher) levels at a younger age. We wanted to be patient there, knowing and hoping that over time and with experience, his athleticism was going to help him make some of the changes he needed to make to become a more impactful, consistent hitter.”
Bridich added he believes Story “can get even better” as a hitter as he works on cutting down on his strikeouts, of which he had 168 last year.
“The really good hitters don’t strike out a lot, and I know there’s a little give-and-take there with the power, but there’s so much room in this game for me to get better each at-bat,” Story said. “But I’m not going up there trying not to strike out. There’s times when I’ll take chances, and there’s times where I’ll cut down on my swing.”
His work ethic has enabled him to not only keep pace, but surpass, many of his positional peers in an age where the heavy-hitting, traditionally unconventional molds of Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada redefined the position.
“Now, pretty much every shortstop in the league has some pop, so the position has been changed,” said Rockies centerfielder Ian Desmond said. “But (Story) is obviously an elite, elite shortstop at the front of more change.”
To hit the 30/30 mark this season — and to fulfill Arenado’s prediction of someday joining the 40/40 club — Story knows he’ll have to again elevate his game on the bases, too.
“Obviously teams are going to pay more attention to me at first base, just because I stole some bases last year,” he said. “I saw that toward the end of the year in 2018, so it’s about being smart, doing your preparation in terms of timing and studying, and then knowing when to go.”
His main goal is to help the Rockies win their first ever division title this year. He acknowledges that last September’s MVP push motivated him coming into 2019.
“I think about that and (the all-star nod) all the time,” Story said. “It’s important to remember the special moments, and hopefully I can get to some more all-star games, but it’s a moment I think about a lot because I remember all the little things that got me there. If I take care of the prep and the daily things I did last year, hopefully I’ll be in even a better position this season.”
