Baseball has seen its fair share of controversies, and one of the most debated topics is stealing. Stealing in baseball refers to a baserunner advancing to the next base without the ball being hit or batted. A successful steal can change the course of a game, but it’s not always easy to execute.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 15 caught stealing statistics in baseball history. We’ve compiled data from various sources and analyzed it to bring you some interesting insights into this contentious topic.
1. Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henderson is widely considered one of the greatest base-stealers in baseball history. He holds several records for stolen bases, but he also leads in another category: caught stealing. In his career, he was caught stealing 335 times out of 1406 attempts, giving him an overall success rate of just over 76%.
2. Tim Raines
Tim Raines was another prolific base-stealer who played during the same era as Rickey Henderson. He attempted fewer steals than Henderson but had a higher success rate with 84%. However, he was still caught stealing 146 times during his career.
3. Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb was one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and also had a reputation for being an aggressive baserunner. He attempted to steal bases frequently and led the league several times in stolen bases throughout his career; however, he was also caught stealing more than anyone else during his time – a total of 177 times.
4. Vince Coleman
Vince Coleman burst onto the scene during his rookie year with St Louis Cardinals by leading all players with 110 stolen bases while only getting thrown out nine times (90% success rate). Over time though defenses started figuring him out and would often throw over multiple times before pitching thereby slowing down his speed on basepaths causing him getting Caught Stealing more often than not eventually getting picked off 39 times.
5. Lou Brock
Lou Brock was another great base-stealer who played in the same era as Ty Cobb. He attempted to steal bases less frequently than Cobb but had a higher success rate with 75%. However, he was caught stealing 307 times during his career.
6. Davey Lopes
Davey Lopes is another player known for his speed on the basepaths, and in his prime, he managed to steal over 40 bases every season for five straight seasons averaging almost an 83% success rate each year of those five years. His aggressive baserunning also caused him to get picked off more often than most other players leading to him getting Caught Stealing at least once per year on average.
7. Maury Wills
Maury Wills set a record by stealing 104 bases in one season (1962) while also being caught stealing only thirteen times which gave him an impressive 89% success rate that year alone! Throughout his career, he maintained an overall success rate of just under 74%.
8. Willie Wilson
Willie Wilson had incredible speed and agility that enabled him to become one of the greatest base-stealers in baseball history; however, this aggressiveness would often lead to costly mistakes where he would be thrown out trying to advance or even pickoff after several throws over from pitchers leading up until an eventual total of being Caught Stealing nearly half of his attempts (247 CS vs.358 SB) throughout his career.
9. Carl Crawford
Carl Crawford’s name might not come up immediately when speaking about great baserunners due largely because he played during a time where it wasn’t emphasized all too much but nonetheless amassed nearly four-hundred stolen bases throughout his twelve-year career although it came at a cost as well – being caught stealing over one hundred twenty-five times (126 CS vs.480 SB).
10-15: Several players share the tenth spot on our list, having been caught stealing 200 times each. These include Bert Campaneris, Jose Reyes, Juan Pierre, Bobby Bonds, Otis Nixon and Delino DeShields.
In conclusion, these statistics show us that while base-stealing can be a game-changer in baseball, it’s not always easy to execute. Even some of the greatest baserunners in history have been caught stealing more often than they would have liked. However, for those who can master this skill and know when to take risks and stay safe while doing so will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on the sport like Rickey Henderson or Tim Raines did during their time playing professional baseball.