Stolen Base
Overview
A stolen base (盜壘, Korean: 도루) is a play in baseball in which a runner advances to the next base after the pitcher begins the pitching motion and before being put out by the catcher's throw. It is a representative baserunning tactic that can move a runner into scoring position without a hit or a walk, and it is evaluated as an offensive means capable of changing the flow of a game in an instant. A stolen base simultaneously has the character of a psychological battle pitting the runner's raw speed and judgment against the pitcher's and catcher's pickoff ability.
Main Content
Definition and Conditions for Establishment
If, in the process of a runner reaching the next base, the defense attempts a tag out but the runner touches the base first, a stolen base is awarded. Conversely, if the runner is tagged out on the catcher's throw, it is recorded as a failed stolen base (caught stealing). However, if the catcher makes a wild throw or does not throw at all, it is not recognized as a stolen base and may be treated as 'defensive indifference' or the like. A stolen base is basically recognized only after a pitch has been made, and advancing while the pitcher throws a pickoff attempt is not recorded as a stolen base.
Types of Stolen Bases
- Single steal: The most common form, in which one runner alone advances to the next base.
- Double steal: A play in which two runners simultaneously advance to their respective next bases, aiming to disrupt the defense's choice of throw and allow both runners to be safe.
- Home steal: A very rare and risky stolen base in which the runner on third base times the catcher's throw and dashes home.
- Delayed steal: A method in which the runner starts late after the pitcher has fully entered the pitching motion, taking advantage of the defense's lapse in attention.
- Double steal (two-base steal): It can also refer to a play in which one runner steals two bases consecutively.
Records and Rules
Stolen bases are one of the official baseball statistical categories, with successful attempts (SB) and failed attempts (CS) counted separately. The success rate is calculated as SB/(SB+CS), and the league average success rate is generally around 70–75%. Because reckless stolen base attempts with a low success rate result in throwing away scoring opportunities, managers and coaches decide whether to steal by comprehensively considering the runner's speed, the pitcher's pickoff ability, the catcher's throwing accuracy, the inning situation, and so on.
Strategic Value
Stolen bases make it possible to score with even a single hit by advancing a runner into scoring position. In particular, because they make it possible to score via a sacrifice fly, a ground ball, and so on, they greatly increase offensive efficiency. In addition, teams that frequently attempt stolen bases induce the pitcher's pickoff moves, shake the pitching rhythm, and gain the secondary effect of drawing mistakes. On the other hand, a failed stolen base leads to the critical loss of a runner, so modern baseball emphasizes a cautious approach that values success rate.
Notable Records
The Major League Baseball (MLB) career record for most stolen bases is held by Rickey Henderson, who recorded 1,406 steals. The single-season record for most stolen bases is known to be 138 by Hugh Nicol in 1887. In the Korean Professional Baseball (KBO), Lee Jong-beom, Jeon Jun-ho, and others are regarded as representative stolen base kings, and the KBO career stolen base record has also been updated over multiple seasons.
Recent Trends
In 2023, Major League Baseball introduced rules expanding the size of bases and limiting the number of pickoff attempts, leading to a simultaneous surge in stolen base attempts and success rate. As the distance between bases decreased and the pitcher's pickoff burden increased, runners' stolen base attempts increased noticeably, leading to assessments of a revival of 'running baseball'. The KBO also changed its stolen base environment by implementing larger bases along with the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) starting in 2024, and in the 2024–2025 season, young runners showed an increasing trend in stolen base attempts. In addition, as sabermetric analysis has spread, the 'baserunning value' metric, which weighs the run contribution of a stolen base rather than simple stolen base counts, is being emphasized, and managers are increasingly tending to decide whether to steal based on situation-specific expected runs.
Related Topics
- [[Baseball]]
- [[Baserunning play]]
- [[Major League Baseball]]
- [[KBO League]]
- [[Sabermetrics]]