Stolen Base Success Rate Increasing
Yesterday, we looked at the decline of the homerun and that homerun totals in the MLB have declined for the third consecutive year. Throughout baseball history, when homeurn totals decline, there is often a corresponding increase in stolen bases.
Not in 2008.
While stolen bases increased from ’05 to ’06 and again from ’06 to ’07, thievery declined in ’08 versus ’07. In looking at the 2000′s, however, one trend appears evident–base stealers’ success rates are showing a steady improvement.
STOLEN BASE TOTALS PER SEASON
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2000 — 2923 68.8%
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2001 — 3103 68.8%
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2002 — 2750 68.2%
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2003 — 2573 69.4%
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2004 — 2589 70.2%
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2005 — 2566 70.6%
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2006 — 2767 71.4%
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2007 — 2918 74.4%
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2008 — 2799 73.0%
The Tampa Bay Rays led the MLB in stolen bases this season with 142 with the Colorado Rockies just one behind. The San Diego Padres were the league’s worst with only 36 steals. The Rockies’ Willy Taveras led the MLB with 68 stolen bases in 2008.
