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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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Omar Moreno. 10. player. 4. . Outfielder. Pirates, Astros, Yankees, Royals, Braves, 1975-1986

The most surprising name among the top ten base stealers in Major League Baseball history is Omar Moreno. It’s not that Moreno wasn’t fast – he led the Major Leagues with 71 stolen bases in 1978, led the National League with 77 in 1979 and set a career-high with 96 steals in 1980, but he did not have the prolonged success of those that will follow on our list.

487 Career SB

40.59 SB Per Season

72.8% Success Rate

57 SB Per 162 Games

45 Points

In 12 Major League seasons, Moreno stole 487 bases, an average of 40.59 per season, which is the sixth best among our qualifiers. Per 162 games, Moreno swiped 57 bags, which ranks in the top five. Unfortunately, he was successful only 72.8% of the time, which is 24th among our 25 qualifiers.

Moreno’s most memorable seasons came as a member of the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates, specifically the 1979 World Series championship club. Moreno led off for the Pirates that season and in addition to leading to NL in steals, led all of Major League baseball in at bats (695) and plate appearances (757). He led the Majors in both categories again in 1980. In the World Series, Moreno hit .333/.353/.394 in 34 plate appearances in the seven-game series, but interestingly enough did not steal a base.

Had he gotten on base more in his career (he hit .252/.306/.343 with 1,257 hits and 387 walks in 1,382 games), Moreno might have ranked among the very best of all-time. Instead, he was out of baseball at the age of 33 after one season with the Atlanta Braves in 1986.

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