It’s time again for Baseball Roundtable’s Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” one-of-a-kind MLB accomplishments or statistics.
This week our primary focus in players who share the record for the most stolen bases in a single MLB game.
Eddie Collins, 1912 Athletics
Photo: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Eddie Collins is the unicorn in this group, the only player to steal six bases in a game twice in his career – and he did it twice in the same season (as well as twice in the same month), Collins is also:
- The first MLB player to steal six bases in a game; and
- The only player on this list to have a caught stealing in a six-theft contest.
On September 11, 1912 – as his Athletics beat the Tigers 9-7 in Detroit – Collins (batting third and playing 2B) went three-for-five, with two runs scored and one RBI. After grounding out in the first inning; he had an RBI single in the third and stole second; he was safe on an error in the fourth, then stole second (going to third on an error) and then stole home; he singled again in the sixth, stole second, advanced to third on an error and was caught attempting to steal home; in the eighth, he singled and stole second and third. The speedy outburst gave him 53 steals on the season.
Then just 11 days later (September 22), as the Athletics topped the Browns 8-2 in St. Louis, Collins again broke free for six steals. Batting third and playing second base, Collins went four-for-five, with three runs scored and one RBI
He started his day reaching first base on a fielder’s choice and then stealing second. After that: he led off the third with a bunt single and later scored (but did not steal a base); bunted for a single again in the fifth, stole second and later scored; singled to LF in the seventh, stole second (advancing to third on a bad throw by the catcher) and later stole home; hit an RBI single to center in the eighth and stole second and third while the next batter was at the plate.
Collins finished the 1912 season at .348-0-64, with league-leading 137 runs scored and 63 steals in 85 attempts. He was second in steals in the AL to Clyde Milan’s 88.
Hall of Famer Collins played in 25 MLB seasons (1906-30 … all for the Athletics. He went .333-47-1,299, with 1,821 runs scored, 3,315 hits and 741 steals (eighth all-time) in 937 attempts. Collins led the league in steals four times and stole 40 or more bases in ten seasons. He also led the league in runs scored three times
Otis Nixon, 1991 Braves
For 79 years, Eddie Collins stood as the only MLB player to steal six bases in a game. Then, on June 16, 1991, Brave’s RF and leadoff hitter Otis Nixon logged six steals as the Braves lost to the Expos 7-6 in Montreal. Nixon went three-for-five, with two runs scored in the game.
Nixon opened the contest with a single and signaled what was to come by stealing second and third before scoring the game’s first run. Going forward, he led off the third with a bunt single and again stole second and third before scoring (on the second and third pitches to the next batter). Nixon then grounded out to end the fourth; and lined out to end the sixth. With the Braves trailing 7-6 in the top of the ninth, Nixon did all he could to will them to victory. He led off with a single, and stole second; then with two out he stole third, but and was stranded.
In the 1991 season, Nixon went .297-0-26, with 81 runs scored and 72 steals in 93 attempts. His 72 steals were second in the NL to the Expos’ Marquis Grissom. Nixon played in 17 MLB seasons (1983-99 … Yankees, Indians, Expos, Braves, Red Sox, Rangers, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Twins), going .270-11-318, with 878 runs scored and 620 steals in 806 attempts. While he never led the league in stolen bases, he swiped forty or more bags in nine campaigns.
Eric Young, Sr., Rockies, June 30, 1996
June 30, 1996 was quite a day for the Dodgers and Rockies, who faced off at Coors Field. The Rockies prevailed 16-15 in a game that featured a combined 38 hits, 10 home runs, 14 stolen bases and five errors. In the entire contest, there was only one three up/three down half inning, In addition to scoring a combined 31 runs, the two teams left 20 runners on base over the nine frames.
Rockies’ 2B and leadoff hitter Eric Young, Sr. went two-for-five, with a walk, three runs scored and one RBI. He also stole a record-tying six bases in six attempts.
Young led off the bottom of the first inning by grounding out third-to-first. He led off again in the third and singled. After SS Walt Weiss fanned, Young stole second and third base while LF Ellis Burks was at the plate. Burks eventually walked (on four pitches, apparently Young’s activity on the bases was a bit unnerving for the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo). Then, on an 0-1 pitch to RF Dante Bichette, Young completed his trip around the bases by stealing home. With Young off the basepaths, Nomo fanned the next two batters (1B Andres Galarraga and 3B Vinny Castilla) on eight pitches.
Young came up again in the fourth, with two out and CF Quintin McCracken on third (McCracken had walked and stole second and third during a P Roger Bailey strikeout). Young stole second and later scored. In the fifth, Young was safe on a fielder’s choice and stole second, but was stranded. Young reached on an error in the seventh and later scored, but did not steal any bases. In the eighth, with the Rockies up 14-12, Young singled, stole second, but was stranded.
In 1996, Young hit .324-8-74, with 113 runs scored and a league-leading 53 steals in 72 attempts. Young played in 15 MLB seasons (1992-2006 … Rockies, Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Rangers, Padres), going .283-79-543, with 996 runs scored and 465 steals in 633 attempts. He stole 30 or more bases in nine seasons … 50+ three times), but led the league just once.
In 1996, Eric Young, Sr. struck out just 31 times in 643 plate appearances.
Carl Crawford, 2009 Rays
Photo:Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Carl Crawford had his six-steal day in May 3, 2009 in a Rays’ 5-3 win over the Red Sox (in Tampa). Crawford, batting second and playing LF, went four-for-four, with a walk, two runs scored and one RBI.
In the first inning, Crawford walked, stole second (going to third on the catcher’s throwing error) and later scored. In the third, he had an infield single and stole second. In the fifth, he singled and stole second and third (but did not score). In the seventh, he singled, stole second and eventually scored. In the eighth, he singled and stole second.
In 2009, Crawford went .305-15-68, with 96 runs scored and 60 stolen bases (in 76 attempts). His 60 steals were second to the Red Sox’ Jacoby Ellsbury in the AL.
Crawford played in 15 MLB seasons (2002-2016 … Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers). He was a four-time All Star and a one-time Gold Glover. He final stat line was .290-136-766, with 998 runs scored and 480 steals (in 589 attempts). He led the league in steals four times and stole 40 or more bases in seven seasons )five of those 50 or more).
The Other Side of the Coin
Forty-eight players have been caught stealing at least three times in a single MLB game, but only one of those was caught four times. That unicorn is Giants’ 2B Robby Thompson, tossed out on the basepaths four times in a Giants’ 7-6 loss to the Reds (in Cincinnati) on June 27, 1986.
In that one, Thompson, at 2B and batting in the two-hole, flied out to right in the top of the first inning. He hit a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at 1-1 in the third. He hit a single to center (with the Giants up 5-1) in the fourth, but was thrown out trying to steal second.
In the top of the sixth (Giants up 5-2), Thompson hit an RBI groundball single to extend the lead and was then again caught on a steal attempt. In the top of the ninth, with the game now tied at six apiece, Thompson singled, but was again caught trying to swipe second. In the eleventh Thompson fanned on a wild pitch with two out, but reached first on the errant pitch. The extra-innings and Thompson’s reaching safely on a strikeout-wild pitch gave him the opportunity to stand (unenviably) alone as the only MLB player caught stealing four times in a single game. And, he cashed in that opportunity, again being tossed out trying to steal second. The Giants finally scored in the top of the twelfth for a 7-6 win.
In that 1986 season, Thompson (in his rookie MLB campaign) hit .271-7-47, with 73 runs scored and 12 steals (in 27 attempts). Thompson played in 11 MLB seasons (1986-96 … Giants) and was a two-time All Star. His final stat line was .257-119-458, with 671 runs scored and 103 steals in 165 attempts. His best season was 1993, when he hit .312-19-65, with 85 runs scored and ten steals. That season, he set his career highs in average, home runs and RBI.
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