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Why doesn't Mike Trout steal bases any more?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Sep 20, 2015.

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  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what Starman meant, that there were zero stolen bases in all of MLB. Sheesh.

    In truth, we are probably looking at the lowest stolen-base total of the 30-team era. We have 2,314 now. Last year there were 2,764 and the year before that there were 2,693. The previous two years were over 3,000.
     
  2. justgladtobehere

    justgladtobehere Well-Known Member

    The original assertion was that stealing bases don't help score runs. Clearly not true.

    As for the total stolen bases being down, I think that is more a function of teams realizing that you have to succeed at a certain rate to be effective. The marginal runners don't go as much, but the league leading players are stealing bases just as much if not more.
     
  3. JC

    JC Well-Known Member

    They are? Might want to check the numbers .
     
  4. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Not really.

    Year-by-Year Top-Tens Leaders &amp Records for Stolen Bases | Baseball-Reference.com

    Typically to get in the top 10 you have to steal well into the 30s. With two weeks left in this season, Nos. 6 through 10 are all still in the 20s, bottoming out at 26.

    Blackmon is third with 38 SBs. Unless he somehow gets to 44, he will end with the lowest #3 total since 1967.

    So if by the league-leading players you mean Billy Hamilton and Dee Gordon, yes. Otherwise, no.
     
  5. justgladtobehere

    justgladtobehere Well-Known Member

    And if you check some of those guys in years past who finished third in SB, you will find them also leading the league in caught stealing. Players aren't stealing as much, but they are more successful.
     
  6. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Ok. Which doesn't have anything to do with your belief that players ARE stealing as much.
     
  7. justgladtobehere

    justgladtobehere Well-Known Member

    My point was that the top players were stealing as much, as the there has been no drop off in the league leaders' totals. Other players don't steal as much because teams realize it is not worth it.
     
  8. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Your point is incorrect, save for two players.
     
  9. cjericho

    cjericho Well-Known Member

    No drop off since when? When the league leaders were Henderson and Coleman they would steal 100 bases. No one is close to that.
     
    LongTimeListener likes this.
  10. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    From 1973 to 1993, the MLB leader in stolen bases had at least 70 every season. Second and third place also had at least 55 SB apiece every year in that span except three, one of which was the 1981 strike-shortened season. It wavered a bit from 1994-1999, and since 2000 the MLB leader has had 70 or more only three times -- including 2004 (Scott Posednik) and 2009 (Jacoby Ellsbury) when they had exactly 70. It's especially dropped off in the last five years.
    So it's definitely a trend in the game. The numbers now are similar to what they were before the heyday of Lou Brock and Maury Wills. In fact, if you look at the year-by-year totals the 1973-93 trend was actually a significant spike and not the norm. There was a 13-year span from 1945-58 where nobody stole more than 40. You have to go back before 1920 to see totals that are in line with that 1973-93 spike.
     
  11. justgladtobehere

    justgladtobehere Well-Known Member

    The first mention of totals was for the 30 team league. Henderson and Coleman weren't stealing 100 bases then.
     
  12. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    The only reason the 30-team era matters is because I was quoting league totals. For the individual numbers it's highly relevant.

    However, even in the 30-team era there has typically been one or two guys above 70 or at least in the mid-60s. Right now we have Hamilton at 57, Gordon at 52 and Blackmon third at 38.

    This really isn't much of an argument no matter what you think you're saying.
     
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