Phillies all-time list: Top 10 speedsters
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.
8 – Lenny Dykstra
Dykstra was in his fifth Major League season when he was traded along with reliever Roger McDowell from the Mets to the Phillies for Juan Samuel. Already an established stolen base threat, Dykstra swiped 116 bases in 141 attempts with the Mets. He continued his success on the bases with the Phillies, stealing at least 20 bases four times and three times surpassing 30.
During the 1993 NL Championship season, he established a career-high of 37 steals. Dykstra’s best success rate with the team was in 1990 when he stole 33 of 38 attempts. His .782 success rate ranks fourth among base stealers on this list. Dykstra retired with 285 stolen bases, 169 with the Phillies.
7 – Doug Glanville
One of the most intelligent and sound center fielders in his eras, Glanville played six of his nine Major League seasons with the Phillies. Before his time in Philadelphia, Glanville swiped 44 of 61 attempts with the Cubs. Clearly at his peak in Philadelphia, Glanville surpassed the 20 stolen base plateau four times and 30 bases twice. He stole a career-high 34 bases in 1999 while being caught just twice.
Glanville’s .856 stolen base percentage with the Phillies is second to Utley on this list. He swiped 143 bases while in a Phillies uniform and 168 in his career.
6 – Shane Victorino
Victorino was a key component during arguably the best era in Phillies baseball. He stole seven bases in 36 games for the Padres in 2003 and didn’t play in the Major Leagues in 2004. After two quiet years with the Phillies Victorino took off on the bases in 2007 when he stole 37 while being caught just four times. This began a four year stretch of at least 20 steals for the club. Victorino stole a career-best 39 in 2012 (15 with the Phillies, 24 with the Dodgers). “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” stolen 179 bases in a Phillies uniform with a success rate of 82 percent.
5 – Von Hayes
Hayes was part of a five-for-one deal in which the Phillies gave up Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Jerry Willard, and Julio Franco. While Hayes never lived up to the expectations, he did have some excellent seasons in the red pinstripes. During that time, he was one of the top base stealers in the league. He posted a career-best 48 steals in 1983 and had six seasons with at least 20 steals. Hayes swiped 202 bases with the Phillies, and added 51 steals during his time in Cleveland and California before retiring with 253 steals in 350 attempts.
4 – Larry Bowa
The scrappy shortstop who was part of the 1980 World Championship team played 11 years in a Phillies uniform. Bowa stole 81 bases over his first four seasons, but as caught 39 times. However, he became a smarter and more successful base stealer over his last seven seasons with the team, compiling 207 steals in 262 attempts for a 79 percent success rate. Bowa surpassed 20 steals nine times and three times exceeded 30 with a season-high of 39 in 1974. Following his time in Philadelphia, Bowa played for the Cubs and Mets, retiring with 318 stolen bases in 432 attempts.
3 – Bobby Abreu
Abreu was one of the most underappreciated and underrated players to put on a Phillies uniform. A five-tool player, Abreu consistently hit .300, put up 20 more home runs and stolen more than his share of bases. He stole at least 20 bases in eight of his nine seasons with the Phillies, and reached at least 30 steals four times. Abreu swiped 254 bases at a 76 percent success rate with the Phillies. He continued to be a stolen base threat high in his 30’s, reaching 21 steals for the Angels in 2011 at the age of 37. Abreu retired in 2014 with 400 stolen bases in 528 attempts.
2 – Juan Samuel
Samuel was one of the fastest runners ever to put on a Phillies uniform. He ran wild his rookie season in 1984, stealing 72 bases in 87 attempts. He followed with seasons of 53, 42, 35 and 33 steals with the Phillies before being traded in 1989. Samuel finished his time in Philadelphia with 249 stolen bases in 327 attempts, but he was not finished running.
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In fact, he stole 42 bases in 1989 for the Phillies and Mets and 61 in two seasons with the Dodgers. Samuel played for seven teams over a 16-year Major League career and finished with 396 stolen bases in 539 attempts.
1 – Jimmy Rollins
Jimmy Rollins is not only the greatest shortstop in team history, he’s also the best base stealer. His 453 steals is first among all players in this list, as are his 13 seasons with 20 or more steals, 10 with 30 or more and four with at least 40. He led the league in steals in his rookie season of 2001 with 46.
Rollins had at least 30 steals every season except for one from 2001 through 2009. Not only did Rollins run, but he was also very successful with a stolen base percentage of 82.7, third on this list behind Utley and Glanville.
For the World Championship team of 2008, Rollins was victorious at the rate of 94 percent, swiping 47 of 50 attempts.
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Rollins added 17 steals combined with the Dodgers and White Sox, retiring with 470 stolen bases, 46th in Major League history.