Nick Kurtz Joins Bash Brothers in A's History Books

Have a year, Nick Kurtz

Sep 21, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics former first baseman Mark McGwire smiles after being inducted into the Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame before a game against the Texas Rangers at the Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

A's first baseman Nick Kurtz is having one of the best rookie seasons in big-league history, so it shouldn't be surprising that he's etched his name into the A's history books yet again.

On Wednesday afternoon at Sutter Health Park, Kurtz swatted his 30th home run of the season, which was not only a milestone blast, but it also made him just the third A's player to hit 30 home runs in their rookie campaign.

🚨 NUMBER 30 FOR KURTZY 🚨 pic.twitter.com/V6J0MLuhVD

— Athletics (@Athletics) September 10, 2025

The other two names are fairly synonymous with home runs in A's history. In fact they're so recognized as home run hitters that they were dubbed the "Bash Brothers" back in the 1980s. Of course, we're talking about Jose Canseco's 1986 season and Mark McGwire's 1987 campaign.

In '86, Canseco was playing in his first full season in the bigs after getting into 29 games (100 plate appearances) in 1985, and was still just 21 years old when he was named the AL Rookie of the Year following a 33 homer season. Two years later in 1988, he'd also become the first player ever to hit 40 home runs (finished with 42) and swipe 40 bags. He'd win the AL MVP that season.

McGwire would make his MLB debut in 1986, getting into 18 games, but his first full season was the following year, and he'd hit a then-record 49 home runs by a rookie. Since then, Aaron Judge's 52 in 2017 and Pete Alonso's 53 in 2019 have broken that record. McGwire would earn the AL Rookie of the Year in '87, but he would never win an MVP award.

He ended up finishing second in the NL MVP race the year he broke the single season home run record in 1998, finishing well short in the voting to Sammy Sosa, who also broke the single-season record with 66 homers of his own.

What makes this feat all the more impressive is that Kurtz has not only played in just 102 games this season, meaning that he's been notching homers at an incredible pace, but he's also one of just 32 players to achieve the feat dating back to 1901. One more added to his total this year would tie him with Ted Williams' 31 in 1939 and Tim Salmon's 1993 campaign.

While Kurtz has had his struggles against left-handers this year, he has still tallied six of his 30 homers off southpaws, including this one. At this stage in his career, he may not be at full force when facing same-handed pitchers, but that doesn't figure to stay the case for much longer. When he starts mashing both righties and lefties, watch out.