Who are the speediest players in Phillies franchise history?
As the Phillies struggled to score last year, they also didn’t do much on the basepaths, ranking 23rd in stolen bases with 69. Base stealing is clearly a lost art form, as the Major League team average is about a half per game.
Looking back, here are the top base stealers in Phillies franchise history.
Note that caught stealing was not an official statistic until 1951, so any player before that time is not included on the list.
10 – Chase Utley
Throughout his Major League career, Chase Utley was one of the smartest base runners in the game. Although having above-average speed, Utley was not a burner, and was still successful on 88.8 percent of his attempts. His career success rate of 87.5 percent ranks second all-time among qualifiers.
Utley stole a career-high 23 bases in 2009 without being caught. During a six-year stretch from 2007-2012, Utley was successful on an incredible 84-of-90 attempts and finished his Phillies career with 142 stolen bases in 160 attempts.
9 – Garry Maddox
Known mainly for his defensive play that earned him eight Gold Glove awards in center field, Maddox was a stolen base threat from 1975 through 1980. During that time, he surpassed 20 stolen bases each year and posted a career-high 33 in 1978.
Maddox had stolen 248 bases over a 15-year career, the first three-plus seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Maddox complied 189 steals and was caught 66 times during his Phillies career.