Mookie Betts: A Steady Combination Of Power And Speed

An on-screen graphic during last night's Red Sox game stated that Mookie Betts is the only player in Red Sox history to have hit 15+ home runs and 15+ stolen bases in three consecutive seasons.

* Please keep in mind that Mookie Betts has played only three full seasons in the major leagues.

I went to Baseball Reference's always-amazing Play Index to investigate.

Three other Red Sox players have had three or more 15/15 seasons, but they were not consecutive: Jackie Jensen (1954, 1955, 1959), Reggie Smith (1967, 1968, 1972), and Dustin Pedroia (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012).

Carl Yastrzemski is on the list for 1969 and 1970; in 1968, however, he fell short by two stolen bases (23/13). Ellis Burks did it in his first two seasons in the majors (1987 and 1988), but had only 12/21 in 1989. And while Pedroia achieved 15/15 four times in a five-year stretch, he finished with 12/9 in the middle year (2010).

Of course, 15/15 is an arbitrary cutoff. But it does show that Betts possess a consistent combination of power and speed.

If we drop the criteria to 13/13, Betts has some company: Jim Tabor (1939, 1940, 1941) and Yaz (1968, 1969, 1970).

How about upping it to 20/20?

                   YEAR  HR  SB
Jackie Jensen      1954  25  22
JacKie Jensen      1959  28  20
Carl Yastrzemski   1970  40  23
Ellis Burks        1987  20  27
John Valentin      1995  27  20
Nomar Garciaparra  1997  30  22
Jacoby Ellsbury    2011  32  39
Dustin Pedroia     2011  21  26
Mookie Betts       2016  31  26

Oldest: Jensen was 32 in 1959, Yaz was 30. Youngest: Burks was 22, Garciaparra and Betts were 23.