MLB Stolen Base Leaders
March 24, 2008
In most instances, thievery in broad daylight is frowned upon. In baseball, it’s an art, albeit a dying one.
Long gone are the days when a Rickey Henderson or a Maury Wills struck fear in a pitcher’s heart simply by taking those slow, deliberate steps away from first base. Henderson not only holds the single season stolen base record (130 in 1982); he also swiped more than 100 on two other occasions.
While that puts the current crop of base thieves in a slightly different perspective, someone has to keep the larcenous flame alive.
Over the last five seasons, the leaders are:
1. Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay) — 268. It’s hard to get much attention playing for the Rays, but Crawford deserves a look.
2. Jose Reyes (New York Mets) — 215. Arguably the game’s most exciting player.
3. Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle) — 185. Japanese import is one of baseball’s most complete players.
4. Jimmy Rollins (Philadelphia) — 168. Led the Phillies to the playoffs in 2007.
5. Juan Pierre (Florida, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers) — 167. Much-traveled, but he has game.
Source: MLB.com
