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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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player. 7. . Outfielder. Royals, A's, Cubs, 1976-1994. Willie Wilson. 5

Because he played during the Rickey Henderson era, Willie Wilson only led the American League in stolen bases once – when he swiped 83 bases for the Kansas City Royals as a 23-year old in his second full big league season. However, because Wilson stole 668 bases in his career and was successful 83.29% of the time, he ranks as the fourth greatest base stealer on our list.

668 Career SB

35.16 SB Per Season

83.29% Success Rate

50 SB Per 162 Games

27 Points

Like several players on this list, Wilson would have ranked slightly higher if he hadn’t played very few games over the course of a few seasons. In Wilson’s first two years as a Royal, 1976 and 1977, he appeared in only 25 games combined. He also played just 17 games for the Chicago Cubs in 1994, his final season.

During those years, he stole a combined nine bases. Counting only the other 16 years he played – in which he played in more than 100 games each season, Wilson stole 41.19 bases per season, which would have improved his position in that category by five points. Instead, he ranked eighth with 50 steals per 162 games and fell to fifth overall using our metrics.

Of course, Wilson is obviously one of the all-time greats. His 668 career thefts rank 12th in Major League history and sixth among our qualifiers. With a career success rate of 83.29%, he is also one of the most efficient base stealers in big league history and the second most efficient on our list.

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