The stolen base is one of the most exciting plays in sports. One man and his feet against a pitcher/catcher duo. It’s fast-twitch muscles combined with raw foot speed, frantic action, and powerful arm strength.
Here’s our list of the best base stealers for every MLB team.
Each MLB Team’s Best Base Stealer
The stolen base is baseball’s great sleight of hand—a whisper of wind on the basepaths that turns a single into something sinister for opposing pitchers. In an age increasingly dominated by launch angles and exit velocity, we’re taking a moment to honor the art of the swipe. Here’s a look at the best base stealer in each MLB team’s history. Buckle up. These guys didn’t.
Ty Cobb (Detroit Tigers)
Ty Cobb was chaos in cleats. With 897 stolen bases, most coming before baseball had reliable clocks, Cobb’s reputation was so fierce that catchers probably threw to second just out of habit. He slid spikes up, wore a snarl like eye black, and played base running like psychological warfare. He wasn’t just stealing bags—he was stealing souls.
Joe Morgan (Cincinnati Reds)
Sure, Joe Morgan was the engine of the Big Red Machine, but he was also a master thief: 689 career stolen bases, including five seasons with 40+ steals. He walked a ton, got on base, and then dared pitchers to blink. They did. Often.
Rickey Henderson (Oakland Athletics)
This is the most obvious pick in sports history. Rickey is the base stealer—1,406 total, a record likely to outlive us all. With Oakland, he swiped 867 bags and did it while narrating his own greatness in third person. Rickey didn’t just steal bases—Rickey made them tremble.
Rickey Henderson (New York Yankees)
Yes, Rickey again. He played for four other teams but somehow Rickey-ness peaked in pinstripes. In just five years with the Yankees, he stole 326 bases—more than Mickey Mantle had hits in three seasons. Rickey was basically a Bronx blur.
MORE: 100 Greatest Left Fielders in Baseball History
Luis Aparicio (Chicago White Sox)
Aparicio’s legs were tiny metronomes, stealing 506 bases in the era between Cobb and Henderson. He led the AL in steals nine straight times and did it all while looking like your accountant’s uncle. Silent, steady, sneaky. A master of understatement—and underestimation.
Willie Wilson (Kansas City Royals)
Imagine a gazelle wearing cleats—that was Willie Wilson. He led the league in triples five times and twice in stolen bases. In 1979, he swiped 83 bags. He didn’t steal bases; he evaporated from first and reappeared at third, like a teleporting baseball spirit.
Tim Raines (Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals)
If Rickey was the king, Raines was the prince. “Rock” stole 808 bags and got caught just 146 times—absurd efficiency. With the Expos, he racked up 635 stolen bases while rocking some of the best uniforms ever. Smooth, smart, and criminally underrated. Raines is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
George Case (Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators)
Before the Twins moved to Minnesota, Case lit up the 1930s and ’40s like a Depression-era dash light. He led the American League in stolen bases five straight times and once swiped 61 in a season where nobody else cracked 30. Track shoes before track shoes were cool.
Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston Red Sox)
Ellsbury’s Red Sox tenure had a bit of “he’s great but…” energy, but no one doubts his wheels. In 2013, he led the majors with 52 steals. He also stole as many as 70 bags, At his peak, he was a green-light guy every time he reached first. Which was often.
Otis Nixon (Atlanta Braves)
Nixon didn’t debut until age 27 but still stole 620 bases. He was the kind of guy who’d steal second and third just because the pitcher looked too comfortable. In Atlanta, he set the franchise record for stolen bases in a season (72) without breaking a sweat—or a bat.
Lou Brock (St. Louis Cardinals)
Brock wasn’t just fast—he was a tactician. He broke Cobb’s stolen base record (before Rickey smashed it) and swiped 938 total, including a jaw-dropping 118 in 1974. Watching Brock run was like watching water roll downhill—inevitable.
MORE: Cardinals All-Time Team
Davey Lopes (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Before he was the old coach barking from first base boxes across MLB, Davey Lopes was the Dodgers’ version of a basepath hacker. He led the NL in steals in the mid-70s and retired with 557 total, many coming while sporting sideburns that added at least 0.3 seconds to his sprint.
Gene Richards (San Diego Padres)
In a town better known for fish tacos than base running, Richards set the Padres’ single-season record with 56 steals in 1980. He stole 242 in his short Padres career and did so as the lone speed merchant in a lineup built for Petco-style pitching duels—except, he predated Petco by two decades.
Juan Pierre (Miami Marlins)
Pierre wasn’t just the Marlins’ base thief—he was their entire engine during the 2003 title run. He stole 65 that year and 190 total in his Marlins career. He also had the best hat tilt in baseball history, probably for aerodynamics.
Juan Pierre (Colorado Rockies)
Wait, again? Yep. Pierre also holds the Rockies’ single-season stolen base record (46 in 2001). In the thin air of Coors, he glided around the bases like he was stealing them downhill.
Max Carey (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Long before Statcast and high-speed cameras, Carey led the National League in steals ten times. He finished with 738—a number that was the MLB record until Cobb and then Brock and then Rickey came along. He also wore some of the dopest wool uniforms ever tailored.
Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle Mariners)
Ichiro ran like poetry—except faster. He stole 509 bases, 438 of them in a Seattle uniform. He once led the AL in steals while also hitting .350 and throwing darts from right field. If you blinked, you missed him. If you didn’t blink, you still probably missed him. Ichiro has been elected to the Hall of Fame, in part because of his skills as a thief.
Carl Crawford (Tampa Bay Rays)
Before he became a high-priced casualty in Boston, Crawford was pure sunshine for the Rays. He stole 409 bases in a Tampa uniform, including four straight years of 50+ steals. His steals were loud—he turned Tropicana Field into a drag strip.
Roberto Alomar (Toronto Blue Jays)
Alomar is mostly remembered for slick gloves and ‘90s flair, but don’t sleep on his wheels. He swiped 206 bags in five years with Toronto. Every steal looked like a shortstop’s dream: precision-timed, perfectly executed, and often part of a double steal for extra drama.
Omar Vizquel (Cleveland Guardians)
Vizquel stole 279 bases for Cleveland—not flashy, just effective. He was the kind of guy who’d bunt for a hit, swipe second, and then make a barehanded web gem the next half-inning. Basically, your favorite baseball card come to life. Special mention for Omar’s superb talent at stealing home, something he did three times with bold flair.
Chase Utley (Philadelphia Phillies)
Utley doesn’t scream “burner,” but he was a 23-for-23 base stealer in 2009. He finished with 154 career steals, almost all with the Phillies, and somehow managed to steal without anyone ever talking about it. Sneaky fast. And maybe a little mean about it, too.
Bobby Bonds (San Francisco Giants)
Before Barry became the Bash, Bobby was the Blur. He had five 30/30 seasons and 461 career steals. He ran with the aggression of a man trying to settle a score. With gravity. He’s the only Giants player who could scare Rickey a little.
Brian Hunter (Houston Astros)
Not to be confused with the other Brian Hunter who also stole bases in the ‘90s, this Brian Hunter stole 241 for the Astros. He wasn’t flashy, but he had timing, instinct, and the ability to make pitchers forget how to hold runners.
Tommy Harper (Milwaukee Brewers)
Tommy Harper was the OG Brewer blur. In 1969, he stole 73 for the Seattle Pilots, who became the Brewers in 1970. Harper carried over his speed and swiped 54 for Milwaukee in ’70. He was the franchise’s first great thief—on a team that barely had a ballpark.
Gary Pettis (Los Angeles Angels)
Pettis looked like a paperclip and ran like a greyhound. He stole 125 bags in his first three seasons with the Angels and finished with 354. His defense got headlines, but his legs won games.
Mickey Rivers (Texas Rangers)
Mick the Quick wasn’t much for strike zone discipline, but he could flat-out run. With Texas, he swiped 94 bags with a batting stance that looked like he was dodging a bee. Every steal was a gamble. And he usually won.
Mookie Wilson (New York Mets)
Before Buckner, before the roller, Mookie was a base thief. He stole 58 in 1982 and swiped 281 for the Mets overall. His speed kept pitchers honest and infielders twitchy. And no one ever looked happier stealing third.
Tony Womack (Arizona Diamondbacks)
In Arizona’s early days, Womack brought chaos. He led the league in steals in 1999 with 72 and owns nearly every SB record in D-backs history. If Arizona had a coyote mascot, Womack ran faster.
Frank Schulte (Chicago Cubs)
A Dead Ball Era legend, “Wildfire” Schulte once led the league in stolen bases with 43. He was part of the last Cubs team to win a World Series before they went full century. He didn’t run with grace, but he ran with guts.
Al Bumbry (Baltimore Orioles)
Bumbry brought speed to an Orioles team better known for three-run homers and brooding pitchers. He stole 252 bases for Baltimore, mostly in the 1970s, and was the rare spark plug in an engine full of big bats.
Who says you can’t steal in plain sight? These men made it an art—and left every pitcher looking over their shoulder. Who’s your pick for today’s best base stealer?
