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MLB: The Top 15 Major League Baseball Base Stealers of All-Time

By Nicholas Ian Allen

June 8, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Yankees Ricky Henderson before the old timers game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
June 8, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Yankees Ricky Henderson before the old timers game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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6. player. 17. . Outfielder. Yankees, Indians, Expos, Braves, Etc, 1983-1999. Otis Nixon

Often overlooked because he played in the same era as Rickey Henderson, Vince Coleman and Tim Raines (and played alongside Raines in Montreal from 1988 to 1990) and also because he never led his league in steals, Otis Nixon is still one of the top ten base stealers of all-time.

Nixon ranks 16th in Major League history with 620 stolen bases, which is ninth on our list of qualifiers. Throughout his 17-year big league career, Nixon averaged 38.25 thefts per season, which is eighth on our list and his average of 59 thefts per 162 games ranks third.

620 Career SB

38.25 SB Per Season

76.92% Success Rate

59 SB Per 162 Games

34 Points

Far from the most efficient base stealer of all-time, Nixon was successful in only 76.92% of his attempts, which ranks 16th among the 26 players that met our database criteria. He is, however, a Major League record holder.

On June 16, 1991, Nixon stole six bases in a 7-6 loss to the Montreal Expos in Montreal. He reached base three times and stole both second and third twice (the final coming with two outs in the bottom of the ninth – an extremely risky and perhaps unwise move that would have ended the game had he been caught).

The performance tied a Major League record and was the first time a player had done it since 1912 (George Gore and Billy Hamilton are credited with seven stolen bases in a game in 1881 and 1894, respectively). Only Eric Young and Carl Crawford have matched the mark of six stolen bases in a single game.

That season, Nixon set a personal best with 72 stolen bases. He was part of the Atlanta Braves team that went “worst to first” in the NL West before falling to the Minnesota Twins in Game 7 of the World Series. Deion Sanders also played for the Braves that season and until 1993, which gave the team one of the fastest duos in baseball history.

Next: Willie Wilson

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