Issue: 30 hitters have 70 or more stolen bases over the last 4 seasons. We have the usual suspects stereotyped as mostly one-trick ponies with a couple of multiple category contributors thrown into the mix, but are there some wrinkles and surprises here?
Facts: 2007 to 2010
| # | R | A | N | K | |||||||
| Player | SB | PA | R | HR | RBI | BA | SB | BA | RBI | HR | PA |
| Juan Pierre | 202 | 2294 | 293 | 2 | 147 | .288 | 1 | 9 | 22 | 30 | 18 |
| Carl Crawford | 182 | 2433 | 368 | 53 | 295 | .302 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 13 |
| Jose Reyes | 175 | 2297 | 333 | 41 | 194 | .286 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
| Michael Bourn | 172 | 1930 | 267 | 11 | 108 | .263 | 4 | 26 | 27 | 25 | 22 |
| Chone Figgins | 159 | 2454 | 329 | 10 | 169 | .289 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 26 | 12 |
| B.J. Upton | 150 | 2424 | 339 | 62 | 266 | .261 | 6 | 28 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 148 | 2895 | 376 | 29 | 199 | .332 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 1 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 145 | 2670 | 443 | 107 | 330 | .319 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Rajai Davis | 142 | 1438 | 193 | 12 | 128 | .283 | 9 | 13 | 24 | 24 | 26 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 136 | 1510 | 222 | 20 | 130 | .291 | 10 | 5 | 22 | 20 | 25 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 136 | 2522 | 363 | 70 | 271 | .270 | 11 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| Brian Roberts | 132 | 2398 | 348 | 41 | 208 | .288 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Shane Victorino | 132 | 2479 | 366 | 54 | 235 | .281 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 10 |
| Willy Taveras | 127 | 1420 | 191 | 4 | 69 | .266 | 14 | 26 | 30 | 29 | 27 |
| Alexis Rios | 107 | 2647 | 357 | 77 | 323 | .281 | 15 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Bobby Abreu | 101 | 2717 | 407 | 71 | 382 | .282 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| Matt Kemp | 98 | 2303 | 319 | 82 | 308 | .288 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| Brandon Phillips | 96 | 2642 | 365 | 89 | 329 | .275 | 18 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| David Wright | 95 | 2734 | 403 | 102 | 406 | .304 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Ian Kinsler | 95 | 2249 | 372 | 78 | 263 | .279 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 5 | 19 |
| Coco Crisp | 93 | 1543 | 221 | 24 | 153 | .269 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 24 |
| Nyjer Morgan | 92 | 1403 | 175 | 4 | 77 | .283 | 22 | 13 | 29 | 28 | 29 |
| Ryan Theriot | 91 | 2575 | 318 | 13 | 166 | .282 | 23 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 7 |
| Scott Podsednik | 89 | 1598 | 190 | 16 | 125 | .287 | 24 | 11 | 25 | 22 | 23 |
| Grady Sizemore | 88 | 2136 | 307 | 75 | 245 | .262 | 25 | 27 | 13 | 8 | 21 |
| Brett Gardner | 86 | 994 | 163 | 8 | 86 | .268 | 26 | 24 | 28 | 27 | 30 |
| Jason Bartlett | 84 | 2163 | 284 | 24 | 193 | .282 | 27 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 |
| Chris Young | 80 | 2488 | 318 | 96 | 286 | .241 | 28 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| Johnny Damon | 79 | 2467 | 376 | 61 | 267 | .282 | 29 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 11 |
| Carlos Gomez | 77 | 1420 | 182 | 17 | 123 | .246 | 30 | 29 | 26 | 21 | 28 |
Analysis: Juan Pierre is in the 7th in BA. Carl Crawford’s counting categories are as strong as Ellsbury’s are weak, yet Ellsbury’s 5th ranked BA seems a waste in the 9th hole in Fenway in 2011. Chone Figgins is 6th in BA. B.J. Upton’s BA is where I thought it would be, but his rankings in HR, RBI, and PA should easily be in the top 7 or 8. However, they’re not. Ichiro is barely out of the top half in HR and RBI, despite his swing, his home park, and always batting leadoff. No surprise, but I’ve got to shout it anyway–Hanley is a stud! Rollins puts up top 11 or better counting stats, but only 6 of these guys still in The Show are worse in BA. Despite his lost time due to injuries Roberts is in the top half in every category. Victorino is no slouch either. Willy Taveras…Willy Taveras, are you kidding me? Rios’ BA is stronger than I remembered and those counting stats are very good. I’d be in love with Bobby Abreu if he was a little younger or the Angels a lot better; his BA is in the top half and only Wright has more RBI. Despite his woes last season Kemp’s BA is 7th. Matt didn’t play full time until 2008. As a 5 category contributor in the past, his upside looks very good with Donnie Baseball Mattingly. Only Brandon Phillips’ BA limits his stellar value. Is Sizemore’s BA really that low? Only 3 of the 30 had lower batting averages, but after all that missed playing time he made the list. Gardner indeed is a one trick pony thus far. Bartlett has been a steady contributor, except last season. If you can take the big hit on BA, Chris Young is the Man. Damon still made the list? Yes, and with respectful counting stats. Will the Wizard Maddon chance a few more attempts at The Trop? Maybe…
Projections:
| SB Threat | AVG | R | RBI | HR | SB | AB |
| Carl Crawford | 0.292 | 101 | 81 | 16 | 47 | 635 |
| Ian Kinsler | 0.274 | 91 | 68 | 18 | 23 | 525 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | 0.306 | 81 | 46 | 9 | 34 | 665 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 0.277 | 83 | 51 | 8 | 50 | 559 |
| Brett Gardner | 0.269 | 95 | 55 | 7 | 44 | 530 |
| Alexis Rios | 0.269 | 77 | 76 | 17 | 28 | 581 |
| Bobby Abreu | 0.266 | 82 | 80 | 16 | 22 | 547 |
| Juan Pierre | 0.274 | 81 | 48 | 3 | 51 | 598 |
| B.J. Upton | 0.249 | 86 | 64 | 14 | 41 | 570 |
| Rajai Davis | 0.277 | 66 | 51 | 6 | 43 | 483 |
| Brian Roberts | 0.273 | 83 | 57 | 11 | 27 | 558 |
| Chone Figgins | 0.268 | 81 | 43 | 4 | 37 | 590 |
| Grady Sizemore | 0.25 | 75 | 67 | 18 | 20 | 509 |
| Johnny Damon | 0.267 | 80 | 59 | 14 | 14 | 512 |
| Coco Crisp | 0.262 | 70 | 51 | 11 | 31 | 458 |
| Rajai Davis | 0.277 | 66 | 51 | 6 | 43 | 483 |
| Scott Podsednik | 0.282 | 39 | 30 | 4 | 17 | 320 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 0.306 | 102 | 85 | 25 | 31 | 591 |
| David Wright | 0.288 | 92 | 96 | 23 | 21 | 601 |
| Matt Kemp | 0.276 | 89 | 88 | 24 | 27 | 612 |
| Jose Reyes | 0.282 | 89 | 62 | 13 | 36 | 609 |
| Brandon Phillips | 0.267 | 89 | 79 | 19 | 21 | 635 |
| Michael Bourn | 0.261 | 88 | 43 | 5 | 52 | 606 |
| Shane Victorino | 0.271 | 87 | 62 | 14 | 28 | 579 |
| Chris Young | 0.244 | 81 | 76 | 21 | 19 | 579 |
| Jimmy Rollins | 0.248 | 73 | 60 | 14 | 28 | 543 |
| Jason Bartlett | 0.276 | 74 | 55 | 8 | 20 | 517 |
| Nyjer Morgan | 0.27 | 66 | 35 | 3 | 32 | 496 |
| Ryan Theriot | 0.275 | 68 | 38 | 4 | 18 | 532 |
| Carlos Gomez | 0.252 | 62 | 43 | 7 | 22 | 446 |
{6-4-3 Assists to Baseball-Reference, Last Player Picked, Marcel.}
