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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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71. . Infielder. Dodgers, Pirates, Expos, 1959-1972. Maury Wills (Tie). 11. player

The first great base stealer of the modern era was Maury Wills, who played 14 Major League seasons from 1959 to 1972. Wills stole 586 bases in his career, which still ranks in the top 20 of the all-time list.

Among the 25 qualifiers used in our rankings, he ranks 11th, but is the only of them to play in a game prior to 1960 – the first year Wills led the National League when he collected 50 thefts. He led the league six times in 14 seasons, and led all of baseball twice.

586 Career SB

41.86 SB Per Season

73.8% Success Rate

49 SB Per 162 Games

48 Points

In 1962, Wills set a modern Major League record with 104 stolen bases. No one in big league history had surpassed the century mark since Billy Hamilton in 1894. Wills record stood for ten years until Lou Broke swiped 118 bags in 1974. For his efforts on the base paths and atop the lineup for the Dodgers, Wills was named the ’62 National League MVP.

Across 14 seasons, Wills averaged 41.86 stolen bases, which is the fifth best mark among our qualifiers. He averaged 49 steals per 162 games, which ranked 11th. However, because Wills was only successful in 73.8% of his stolen base attempts throughout his career, which ranks 21st among those in our database, he is on the outside of the top ten looking in.

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