Abrams becomes fifth member of Nats' 20/20 Club

The ball went soaring to center field, clearing the wall with plenty of room to spare, bouncing off the concrete floor out there and up against the bullpen cart that resides some 420 feet away from the plate at Nationals Park.

“Yeah, I got that one pretty good,” CJ Abrams said with a grin.

Abrams’ fourth-inning home run Wednesday night was significant for the role it played in helping the Nationals defeat the Braves, 5-1. It was significant for the way it showed another sign the struggling shortstop may finally be breaking out of his second half slump. And it was significant for the milestone it represented.

This was Abrams’ 20th homer of the season. Which, when combined with his 28 stolen bases, makes him the newest member of the exclusive 20/20 Club.

Abrams is only the fifth player in Nationals history to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in a season. He joins Alfonso Soriano (who entered the even rarer 40/40 Club in 2006), Bryce Harper (2016), Lane Thomas (2023) and Ian Desmond (who did it three straight years from 2012-14).

And he did it at 23, with Harper the only other one from the group to do it by that age.

“That’s a heck of an accomplishment for a young player,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I’m really proud of him. He’s been battling every day. To get that out of the way, maybe he can relax a little bit and finish the season up strong.”

A 20/20 season seemed a lock for Abrams back in early July when he was named to his first All-Star team. He already had 15 homers and 15 steals when he departed for the Midsummer Classic in Texas.

It’s been a bit of a slog since then, with Abrams batting .160 and slugging .273 since July 8. But he homered Sunday in Pittsburgh, then homered and singled Wednesday night against the Marlins. So perhaps the breakout is finally coming in the season’s final three weeks.

“The past few games, I feel like I’ve done better with just going out there and having fun with teammates, trying to get a win,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to do at the end of the day. I did a good job today.”

Abrams’ homer Wednesday night offered plenty of reason for encouragement. It came off a high fastball from Braves left-hander Max Fried, one of his best swings in a while.

“He’s really trying to stay behind the ball a little better, use his hands and use his legs more,” Martinez said. “That swing today was awesome. I told him if you had to take a picture of a swing, take the picture of that and instill it in your memory. Because that was a good swing.”

“I just felt on-time,” said Abrams, who during his slump has been late on fastballs and out in front of breaking balls on a regular basis. “Being up there relaxed at the plate. Timing is the biggest thing with hitting.”

He was proud of his 20/20 achievement but also downplayed the significance of it. Given the way his season began, he probably believes he could’ve been shooting for the 30/30 Club right now instead.

Abram will just have to put that on his goals chart for 2025.

“We don’t stop,” he said. “We keep going.”