Most stolen bases in a game
Posted by Andy on April 20, 2010
Wow, the Texas Rangers have already stolen 9 bases against the Red Sox through the first 5 innings of tonight's games.
Here are the most stolen bases in a game in the years covered by the Game Finder (1920-1939, 1952-present):
| Rk | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | SH | SF | ROE | GDP | SB | CS | WPA | RE24 | LOB | # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976-08-01 (1) | OAK | MIN | L 7-8 | 54 | 46 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.732 | 1.522 | 1.074 | 11 | 14 |
| 2 | 2000-05-18 | FLA | SDP | L 2-6 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | -0.354 | -2.742 | 1.461 | 8 | 16 |
| 3 | 1996-06-30 | COL | LAD | W 16-15 | 53 | 48 | 16 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 1.967 | 9.717 | 1.799 | 11 | 18 |
| 4 | 1999-06-28 | SDP | COL | W 8-7 | 38 | 34 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0.421 | 3.921 | .821 | 6 | 16 |
| 5 | 1983-07-27 | STL | SFG | W 7-6 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0.763 | 3.305 | 1.334 | 12 | 18 |
| 6 | 1976-05-30 (1) | CIN | LAD | L 5-6 | 45 | 35 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | -0.095 | 0.932 | 1.516 | 13 | 15 |
| 7 | 1976-05-17 | OAK | MIN | L 4-5 | 53 | 43 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | -0.313 | -1.020 | 1.815 | 16 | 13 |
So the Rangers already have joined this group and still have a chance to move up some more.
April 20th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Elvis Andrus has 3 stolen bases without recording a hit... wonder if thats some kind of record
April 20th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Tim Wakefield, Victor Martinez, and Jason Varitek ... yeah, Russ Nixon ( http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nixonru01.shtml ) could get a stolen base against those guys.
April 20th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Jim - The PI era record is 5.
Generated 4/20/2010.
April 20th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Continuing from before: In that same time-frame 2 players stole 3 bases without officially reaching base (on their own credit).
Generated 4/20/2010.
April 20th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Gerry hasn't chimed in yet, but it should be noted that the record book is dominated by pre-1920 games.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_stba2.shtml
I think the rules for SB's were different at some point in the 1800's but all the games from the 1910s are likely under modern rules. I don't know the details though.
That's an interesting list of retrosheet-era games, though. Spot-checking the boxes I see several "back-up catcher" games (double header, getaway day, etc). Wynegar was the regular catcher for the Twins in 1976 but he was DH-ing in both the games above. Ferguson was catching instead of Yeager in the Dodger game.
April 20th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
The Rangers had 2 players (Andrus and Cruz) steal 3 bases. That's only the 13th time that's happened since 1920. The last time it happened was August 15, 2009, also by the Rangers against the Red Sox with Elvis Andrus stealing 3 and Julio Borbon stealing 4.
April 21st, 2010 at 12:23 am
Thanks for the follow up Raphy
DavidRF, I believe in the 1880s, a player was credited with a stolen base for advancing an extra base over the lead runner on a base hit play. Like if a runner moved from first to third on a single, he was credited with a SB, and if he was tagged out at third, he was credited CS
April 21st, 2010 at 12:30 am
DavidRF, as I recall the modern stolen base rule dates to 1898 - prior to that date, you could get credit for a steal just for going 1st to 3rd on a single. Branch Rickey's claim to fame (or infamy) as a player is that the Senators stole 13 bases off him in a game in 1907, when he was catching for NY.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:07 am
OK Thanks. So the AL record of 15 SB's by the Highlanders over the Browns on 09-28-1911 is under the modern rules but the NL record from 1890 is under the old rules. Anyone know if an NL team can match 15 under modern rules?
April 21st, 2010 at 7:32 am
Zahcary,
"Russ Nixon ( http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nixonru01.shtml ) could get a stolen base against those guys."
If Vlad Guerrero got 2 SBs in this game then yes, Russ Nixon could of stolen one as well!
April 21st, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Do you guys know why Nixon never stole a base? Because he was not a crook.
Get it?
April 21st, 2010 at 10:18 pm
The NL-since-1901 record is 11 stolen bases, by the Giants against the Braves on 20 June 1912, and by the Cardinals against the Pirates in the second game of a doubleheader on 13 August 1916. The record book I'm looking at says that StL-Pit game went only 5 innings, which I find hard to believe.
In the 20 June 1912 game, Boston stole 5, making the 2-team total 16, which is the major league since-1901 record (the Browns didn't steal any the day New York stole 15).
April 22nd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
[...] modern major league record for most stolen bases in a game is 15 (Highlanders against the Browns on September 28, 1911 and Browns against the Tigers on [...]