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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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2nd Base. Astros, Reds, Giants, Phillies, A's, 1963, 1984. Joe Morgan (Tie). 11. player. 61.

The first Hall of Famer on our list, Joe Morgan is one of the greatest second basemen of all-time. The National League MVP in 1975 and 1976 for the back-to-back World Series Champion Big Red Machine, Morgan played 22 seasons in the big leagues, hit .271/.392/.427 with 268 home runs and 1,133 RBI, was a ten-time All-Star and a four-time Gold Glove Award winner.

689 Career SB

31.32 SB Per Season

80.96% Success Rate

42 SB Per 162 Games

48 Points

He could also steal bases. With 689 career swipes, Morgan ranks 11th in the all-time record book and fifth on our list. He was also one of the most efficient base stealers in big league history and succeeded 80.96% of the time – the sixth best among our qualifiers and 37th in Major League history.

Morgan led the Majors in success rate three times in his career, and at very different points. In 1967, Morgan was successful 85.29% of the time. In 1975, he led the Majors with a 87.01% success rate and in 1983, he paced Major League Baseball with a 90% success rate. He was 23, 31 and 39 years old, respectively.

Unfortunately for Morgan, there were three seasons in which he played ten games or fewer (1963 and 1964 when he was 19 and 20 years old, and 1968). That pulled his stolen bases per season rate down to 31.32, which is 20th among our qualifiers. He averaged 42 thefts per 162 games, which ranked 17th.

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