Baseball Library Vault of Lists: March 4, 2009

In Praise of The Anti-Dawsons

Baseball Library Vault of Lists

Supporters of Andre Dawson\'s Hall of Fame candidacy often point to his 314 stolen bases and 438 home runs as evidence that he was a "complete" player. We think Dawson made far too many outs to qualify for Cooperstown, but his speed/power stats made us wonder about the other end of the spectrum, those sluggers who were content to wow the crowds with towering blasts while playing the game station-to-station. So we compiled a Top 20 list composed of hitters with at least 300 home runs and the fewest stolen bases. It\'s interesting to note that, despite the lack of leg, most of these players were more productive hitters than Dawson:

1. Cecil Fielder 2 sb, 319 hr

2. Jay Buhner 6 sb, 310 hr

3. Frank Howard 8 sb, 382 hr

4. Mark McGwire 12 sb, 583 hr

5. Carlos Delgado 14 sb, 469 hr

5. Richie Sexson 14 sb, 306 hr

5. Roy Sievers 14 sb, 318 hr

8. Mike Piazza 17 sb 427 hr

8. Willie Stargell 17 sb, 475 hr

10. Jason Giambi 18 sb, 396 hr

11. Harmon Killebrew, 19 sb, 573 hr

11. Rocky Colavito 19 sb, 374 hr

11. Jim Thome 19 sb, 541 hr

14. Joe Adcock 20 sb, 336 hr

14. Willie Horton 20 sb, 325 hr

14. Boog Powell 20 sb, 339 hr

17. Ralph Kiner 22 sb, 369 hr

18. Ted Williams 24 sb, 521 hr

18. Ron Cey 24 sb, 316 hr

20. Willie McCovey 26 sb, 521 hr

20. Juan Gonzalez, 26 sb, 434 hr

Jay Buhner, Ted Williams, and Juan Gonzalez weren\'t slow, by any means. Gonzalez and Williams simply didn\'t bother to steal often. Buhner also made only a handful of attempts, 30 during a 15-year career, but he also wasn\'t a skilled base stealer. Catchers threw him out 24 times.

In 1969, Harmon Killebrew set a career high with 8 stolen bases while failing in only two attempts for a laudable .800 success rate which puts in on a tiny plot in Tim Raines\'s territory. His manager that year was Billy Martin, who preached that anyone could steal a base if he stayed alert and read the pitcher\'s motion.

Ralph Kiner stole 6 bases in as many attempts in 1949. Willie Stargell went 5-for-5 in 1968, the same year Boog Powell stole 7 bases out of 8.