A Brief History of Bay Area Base Stealers
Upon the passing of Rickey Henderson, an IBWAA writer examines the best base stealers in the Bay Area
IBWAA members love to write about baseball. So much so, we've decided to create our own newsletter about it! Subscribe to Here's the Pitch to expand your love of baseball, discover new voices, and support independent writing. Original content six days a week, straight to your inbox and straight from the hearts of baseball fans.
Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. . . While the very top of the stolen base leaderboard is represented well in the Hall of Fame (nine of the first 11 are in the Hall of Fame), the next group on the all-time list is underrepresented. Of the next 10 on the all-time list, only one (George Davis) is in the Hall. No other major offensive statistic has less than 13 of the top 20 all-time in the Hall, and in large part, that’s only because those statistical categories have multiple active players or players who have not yet used their full time on the ballot.
. . . Rickey Henderson has the major league record for stolen bases in a single season, but he does not have the professional record for the most in a single season. Hugh Nicol stole 138 bases in 1887 for Cincinnati in the American Association. Nicol was known for his impressive antics on the field as a defender, with modern historians considering him akin to Ozzie Smith with his defensive showmanship at second base.
Leading Off
The Best Base Stealers in Bay Area History
By Rich Campbell
This year in this space, we have looked at the best shortstops, third basemen, second basemen, first basemen, left fielders, right fielders, center fielders, catchers and designated hitters to have played in the Bay Area. In 2025, we will tackle pitchers, both starters and relievers.
In light of the recent passing of Rickey Henderson, ending 2024 by looking at the dynamic base stealers who delighted Bay Area fans while it was a two-team market (1968-2024) seems like a good way to salute Henderson. The list below is drawn from each franchise’s top ten but is limited to players who appeared for the Bay Area versions of the A’s and Giants. The list is sorted by games per steal.
Rickey Henderson, A’s 14 seasons, 867 steals in 1704 games or 1 steal every 1.97 games
Rickey’s exploits on the base paths are overwhelming to consider. A few fun facts: He led the AL in steals while an Athletic 8 times, starting in his age 21 season (1980) and for the final time in his age 39 season (1998). He set the never-to-be-broken record of 130 steals in 1982 and surpassed 100 in two other seasons, all in Oakland and all by age 24. His career total of 1406 means a player could steal 70 bases for twenty consecutive seasons and still be seven steals short of breaking his record.
Bill North, A’s 6 seasons/Giants 3 seasons/9 seasons in Bay Area, 232/129/361 steals in 669/316/985 games games or 1 steal every 2.88/2.44/2.72 games
Sometimes overlooked in the pantheon of great Bay Area players, North was an elite base stealer in his own right, nabbing bags at a rate only surpassed by Henderson on this list. In his time in Oakland, he twice led the league in steals (1974 and 1976). North’s career total of 395 steals is 79th in MLB history.
Campy Campaneris, A’s 13 seasons, 566 steals in 1795 games or 1 steal every 3.17 games
Campy led the league in steals six times whilst donning the Green and Gold and totaled seven seasons with more than 50 steals. Like Mays below, some of his numbers were accumulated for the franchise before it relocated from Kansas City to Oakland. In his career, Campy swiped 649 bags, good for 14th on the all-time MLB list.
Bobby Bonds, Giants 7 seasons, 263 steals in 1014 games or 1 steal every 3.85 games
The elder Bonds was a tremendous base stealer. Though he never stole fifty in a year nor led the league in the category, he ended up as the 51st most prolific base stealer in MLB history (461 steals) and nabbed 40 or more bags in five of his six full seasons in San Francisco and added a pair of those seasons after leaving the Giants.
Coco Crisp, A’s 7 seasons, 169 steals in 734 games or 1 steal every 4.34 games
Coco led the league in steals in his age 31 season with 49 steals in 2011. In his years in Oakland he was a consistent threat at the top of the order, including averaging 28 steals per season during the A’s 2012-14 run of playoff appearances. He finished his career with 309 swipes to be 163rd on the all-time list of thieves.
Barry Bonds, Giants 15 seasons, 263 steals in 1976 games or 1 steal every 7.5 games
Barry, coincidentally, stole the same number of bases in San Francisco as his father Bobby. Barry’s best stolen base totals came before he joined the Giants in 1993 at age 28, as he totaled nearly as many steals in just seven years in Pittsburgh (251) as he did in 15 seasons in San Francisco. For his career, Barry Bonds’ 514 steals rank 34th all-time.
Willie Mays, Giants 21 seasons, 336 steals in 2857 games or 1 steal every 8.5 games
Mays led the league in steals four consecutive seasons from 1956-59, the first pair in New York and the second pair after the franchise’s relocation to San Francisco. His highest single-season total was 40 in 1956. It is also noteworthy that he stole 20 bases in his age-40 season, demonstrating what a consistent threat he was on the bases throughout his career. His career total of 339 puts Mays 124th in career steals.
Other top 30 all-time stolen base leaders who passed through Oakland and San Francisco during their careers are: #5 Tim Raines (Oakland, 1999), #11 Joe Morgan (Oakland, 1984), #12 Willie Wilson (Oakland 1991-92), #15 Kenny Lofton (San Francisco, 2002), #25 Brett Butler (San Francisco, 1988-90), #26 Davey Lopes (Oakland, 1982-84).
Rich Campbell is a Marketing Professor at Sonoma State University by day and A’s fan by night. He has previously been a sports business contributor at Forbes.com and his academic writing has appeared in Sport Marketing Quarterly. You can find him on Twitter @RichCampbelPhD.
Extra Innings
Since his passing on December 20, many tributes have been written to Rickey Henderson. As we discuss Bay Area stolen base excellence, a video review of his highlights is in order: