Great base stealers are a rare breed. If a team can find a player who can steal more than 50 bases per year, and steal at a success rate of greater than 80%, they have a man who’s just added forty extra base hits to his statistical line. Not exactly, as statistician extraordinaire Bill James would argue, but certainly close. No one can doubt that if a guy has great speed, and has mastered the art of the steal, his value as a player increases exponentially.
Since the early days of the game, the stolen base has been the weapon of choice for teams who aren't blessed with great power or dominating pitching. It's the great equalizer, one could say. In the game's infancy, when a baseball looked and felt more like a grapefruit than the tightly wound, hard-as-a-rock orb of today, it was common to see players steal 70 to 90 bases a game.
Among the early great base thieves was William Hamilton, who stole so often that he earned the nickname "Sliding Billy." Between 1889 and 1891, Sliding Billy stole more than 100 bases each year. He also had seasons of 98 and 97, and finished his 14-year career with 912 career swipes. However, because he played the majority of his career before 1900, his totals are not counted in the official modern records, which begin in 1900.
The next great master of the stolen base was none other than Ty Cobb. Sure, he could hit for average and he drive home more than 2,000 runs in his career, but it was his speed that many credited for Cobb's success. Ty's single season high was 96, in 1915. In his career, he stole 892, a modern record that stood for more than 60 years.
As the power game became more popular, stolen bases became a thing of the past. Between 1930 and 1960, players routinely led their respective leagues with as few as 20 or 25 steals in a season. The home run had become king, and with all those burly sluggers waiting to hit next, managers became wary to try for the free base, even with their quickest players.
But the pendulum swung back in 1962. That year, shortstop Maury Wills stole 104 bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Although he hit just .299 with 6 home runs, he won the National League MVP, based almost solely on his run-stealing prowess. Wills’s 1962 season revived a trend that continued for the next thirty years.
Over the next decade, stolen base champs averaged more than 50 steals a year, and in 1974, Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals broke the all-time single season record with 118. Brock's speed inspired the likes of Willie Wilson, Ron LeFlore and Time Raines, all of whom topped 80 steals at least once in their careers.
But it was with the arrival of Rickey Henderson and Vince Coleman that the stolen base reached a new high as an offensive weapon. In 1982, Henderson collected a new record with 130 steals, and topped the century mark twice more in his career (100 in 1980; 108 in 1983). His National League counterpart was the mercurial Vince Coleman, who matched Sliding Billy Hamilton's century old feat when he picked up at least 100 steals in three consecutive seasons for the Cardinals (110 in 1985; 107 in 1986 and 108 in 1987).
Since that decade of dominance, no player has come close to reaching triple digits, but the 21st century has brought forth some new, young, dangerous speedsters who might someday challenge the marks of Henderson, Coleman, Wills and Cobb. In 2007, Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, who is being tutored by Henderson, collected 78 steals. Henderson has stated that he believes the kid will someday break one hundred.
Using those trends and statistics as a point of reference, let's take a look at the all-time base stealing records.
The All-Time and Single Season Stolen Base Records
Most Career Stolen Bases, All Time: Rickey Henderson (1,406).
Most Career Stolen Bases (prior to 1900): Billy Hamilton (912).
Most Stolen Bases in a Season. Henderson stole 130 bases in 1982. Brock is second with his 118 in 1974.
Most Stolen Bases By a Player in his Rookie Season: 110 by Vince Coleman in 1985.
Most Stolen Bases in a Single Game: 6 by Eddie Collins, who did it twice in a span of two weeks in September, 1912.
Most Consecutive Stolen Bases Without Being Thrown Out: 50 by Vince Coleman in 1989.
Most Seasons Leading League in Steals: 12 by Henderson (between 1980 and 1998).
Most Stolen Bases, World Series History: 14 by Eddie Collins and Lou Brock.
Most Times Stealing Home in a Career: 50 by Ty Cobb.
__________________________
