Sanders close to joining elite 300-300 club

Sanders is on course this year to become the just the fifth player in history with 300 career home runs and 300 career stolen bases.

ST. LOUIS -- Reggie Sanders' quest for a first 30-30 season could land him in an even more exclusive club.

The St. Louis Cardinals' left fielder is closing in on 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases, a feat accomplished by only four players. Heading into Wednesday night's game he needed 12 homers and four steals to join Bobby Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson and Barry Bonds in the speed/power fraternity.

Sanders' typical response to such statistical questions is to shush the questioner for fear of jinxing his chances. But he realizes this could be the defining statistic of a nomadic career in which he played for seven different teams in seven seasons before joining the Cardinals last season.

"It would be awesome," Sanders said. "I would be beside myself when it happens."

At 37, Sanders is having one of his better offensive seasons. He was second on the team with 17 homers and third with 40 RBIs, and had a team-leading 13 steals in 14 attempts.

Those numbers, along with a .283 average, had manager Tony La Russa considering him for the All-Star team although the Cardinals ended up settling for six representatives -- the most for the team since 1959.

Lately, in a lineup studded with standouts, Sanders has become La Russa's cleanup hitter of choice although he has never had a 100-RBI year. Earlier in the season, he reached another milestone with his 300th career double.

"I think he's running as well as ever and that's amazing," La Russa said. "He's gifted with a really strong physique, but he takes care of himself, and he works at it.

"So, his tools are all alive. He didn't hit them any farther when he was younger."

Sanders, who had 22 homers and 67 RBIs last year, credits a new workout routine for perhaps increasing his power numbers. During the offseason his workout regimen featured hoisting cannonballs equipped with handles and weighing as much as 72 pounds, a practice that has built up his core strength.

"I love the way my body feels," Sanders said. "It's a full-body exercise and works on your flexibility. Hard to say, but I think it's been very beneficial."

Though he has had to cut those workouts down during the season, the strength gains have remained and he'll be entering the second half of the season on a roll. In his last 22 starts he has batted .363 with seven homers and 22 RBIs.

"The great thing about this game is when you start off doing good it just keeps going," teammate Larry Walker said. "The hardest part for a lot of players to be in this game is the part that's played between your ears, and Reggie has that beat.

"When you beat the game mentally, it makes the physical part of it a lot easier, and I think that's what has got him going."

Sanders has a pair of 36-steal seasons, in 1995 with the Reds and 1999 with the Padres, and topped 30 homers as recently as 2003 when he hit 31 for the Pirates. The closest he has come to 30-30 in the same season was in 1995, when he hit 28 homers.

He doesn't care to have his progress monitored on either this pursuit or the 300-300 club.

"I don't know how close I am, but I will be happy when it comes," Sanders said. "I'm really just handling it one game at a time. We'll just leave it at that, and don't tell me."