Top Base Stealers in the Majors going into 2025. Major leagues
Nobody in the all-time top hundred. Stolen bases are harder to come by now. Maybe it has to do with pitchers and catchers being more athletic, too? We already discussed that the advent of the home run (due to changes in the maintenance and properties of the baseball after a short stop's tragic death when beamed with a bad one) in the 1920s. But power and the long ball got even more substantial in the 1990s. Faster pitches? If you get hold of one, it will jump. Also, like the 1920s, some claimed the ball was getting juiced. Speaking of juiced, players were injecting steroids and getting more length from bat speed and strength, albeit artificial and cheating.
Why run and steal second when the guy up at bat is going to crank it? By not risking the out at second, there is better chance of scoring by just avoiding an unnecessary out.
Who do we got? Starling Marte. Age 35. A career total of 354 out of 452 attempts. Tied with Buck Ewing and Gary Pettis for 106th all time. Ewing retired at age 37 in 1897. The World Series had not been developed yet. Who did he play for? Started with the Troy Trojans, then the New York Giants, then Cleveland, then the Cincinnati Reds. All before the turn of century. Guys ran a lot more back then. Maybe they were allowed like 4 or 5 strikes, too. Not sure. Need some research.
Fewer teams back then, which could lead to more steals, maybe. If you knew the limited amount of pitchers that you had to face... Pettis played from 1982 to 1992. When Rickey and Rock Raines were doing their thing. He hit a career .236, so the implication was that he was a really fast runner and likely a great glove, but with only 21 career homeruns, he was a fast guy. Suffered from other liabilities. But in the 80s, many teams wanted a leadoff or other runners who could steal. In many other eras Pettis may never have had a chance, based on lack of average and power.
Marte may get a few more. Last year he hit .269 with 16 stolen bases. Perhaps he plays another few years for the Mets, who seem to be spending big to be great? We shall see. If he gets to 400 stolen bases by the end, he will be 7
Who is next in the current top 1,000 of stolen base leaders? Jose Altuve. This guy has all the tools, I think. Despite his very short stature. He is 34, got 22 last year, and is a clutch, great hitter. Lifetime .306 batting average with power. Tied at 156 with Brady Anderson, who had power, and Jake Beckley, who retired in: 1907.
NEXT UPs, next post.
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