Who were the top 5 best basestealers of all time?

Question

Not necessarily statistically, but who do you think were the greatest and why?

Answer 1

Rickey Henderson-he leads all time

Lou Brock-12 seasons of 50+ SBs, including 118 one season

Ty Cobb-just so aggressive

Jackie Robinson-not a lot, but stealing home is just....WOW!

Jose Reyes-yeah, I know, he's young, but he's stolen 60 two seasons. He's going to improve. Catchers beware!


I really love the thrill of a stolen base. It's kinda sad how everyone is so wrapped in the homerun and power hitting, they forget about speed and base stealing.

Answer 2

Rickey Henderson 1,406 1
Lou Brock 938 2
Billy Hamilton 912 3
Ty Cobb 892 4
Tim Raines 808 5

Answer 3

Ricky Henderson
Lou Brock
Maury Wills
Vince Coleman
Joe Morgan

These were the guys that I remember driving pitchers and catchers crazy and igniting rallys with their speed on the bases.

I remember watching Giant-Dodger games in the 60s and Wills was always a big problem. The Dodgers didn't score much, but when they did it usually involved Wills.

Lou Brock was an offensive force and a holy terror on the bases for St. Louis in the 1967 and 1968 World Series.

Ricky Henderson was without question the best leadoff hitter and base stealer in baseball history. He was a big factor in the Oakland A's playing in 3 consecutive World Series from 1988-1990.

Answer 4

#1 Rickey Henderson
#2 Lou Brock
#3 Tim Raines
#4 Ty Cobb
#5 Jackie Robinson

(on talent alone, I'd also consider Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Barry Bonds. Power hitters that could steal whenever they wanted to, are you kdding me? Not to mention they weren't given the steal sign as much as the guys at the top of the lineup. Had they been leadoff hitters, they would have stole a lot more

Answer 5

Harry Bay. First base stealing champ . Stealing was no big deal then or he could have the all time record.
Ty Cobb, Luis Aparicio, Maury Wills, Lou Brock, Ricky Henderson.
Ty Cobb lived in arizona after he retired from baseball. He would go see Cubs spring raining games. He saw this new kid had speed & taught him to steal. It was Lou Brock.

Answer 6

1) Ricky Henderson - most ever and not even a pitch-out could hold him

2) Lou Brock - Invented the art of base stealing

3) Ty Cobb - The fact he was so dominant in so many other areas beside base stealing, but still one of the best thieves ever

4) Dave Roberts - His one stolen base broke the most notable curse in baseball history - If it weren't for him, right now it would be 89 years and counting for the Red Sox.

5) Anyone who has ever stole home base - to me, that's the hardest one thing to do in modern baseball

Answer 7

Henderson, Cobb, and Brock in no order.

The best single steal however, is Dave Roberts off Mariano Rivera/Jorge Posada in game 4 of the 2004 AlCS.

Answer 8

In different eras the stolen base has been used differently. I think we should consider who could dominate a game with the stolen base and who had the technique to steal whenever they got the signal. My five:
Lou Brock
Rickey Henderson
Willie Mays (76%)
Vince Coleman
Suzuki (44 in a row)

Alternate: Luis Aparicio (9 consecutive titles)

Answer 9

1. Jackie Robinson - watch clips of him stealing home sometime & he did it often.
2. Lou Brock - a walk was the same as a double.
3. Ty Cobb - if he didn't get there first, his cleats would try to rip the ball free.
4. Maury Wills and 5 Willie Wilson - just plain fast.

Answer 10

You pretty much have to expect Rickey Henderson to be on the top of everyone's list. The guy was the best at what he did and he did it for so long. Beyond that, it's all boring really. He is that much better at it.

Edit: haha Deion Sanders, I completely forgot about that guy being in baseball.