Career stolen base leaders

Source:^{[3][lower-alpha 1]}

Entering the 2022 MLB season, only three active players have 300 or more career stolen bases: Dee Strange-Gordon, Elvis Andrus, and Billy Hamilton.^[5]

Career stolen bases leaders, top 10 by league

More information No., American League ...

No.	American League	SB		National League	SB
1	Rickey Henderson	1270[6]		Lou Brock	938[7]
2	Ty Cobb	892[9]		Billy Hamilton	782[10]
3	Eddie Collins	745[11]		Max Carey	738[12]
4	Willie Wilson	660[13]		Honus Wagner	722[14]
5	Bert Campaneris	649[15]		Joe Morgan	681[16]
6	Luis Aparicio	506[17]		Vince Coleman	660[18]
7	Paul Molitor	504[19]		Tim Raines	635[20]
8	Kenny Lofton	502[21]		Dummy Hoy	567[22]
9	Clyde Milan	495[23]		Maury Wills	586[24]
10	Ichiro Suzuki	487[25]		Ozzie Smith	580[26]

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Single-season stolen base leaders (100 or more)

The pre-modern single-season mark for stolen bases is 138 by Hugh Nicol of the Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA) in 1887.^[27] In the modern era, Ty Cobb set a single-season mark of 96 stolen bases in 1915^[27] that lasted until it was broken by Maury Wills with 104 in 1962. A new modern mark was set by Lou Brock with 118 in 1974, and again by Rickey Henderson with 130 in 1982. Henderson and Vince Coleman are the only players to record three 100-steal seasons in the modern era. Coleman is the only player to do it three seasons in a row, much less in the first three season of his career, as well as the only player to record 100 steals as a rookie.

† denotes a player's rookie season

Single-game stolen base leaders (5 or more)

Under the pre-modern rule, George Gore stole 7 bases in a game in 1881, a mark that was tied by "Sliding Billy" Hamilton in 1894. In the modern era, Eddie Collins stole 6 bases in a game on two occasions, both in September 1912, a mark that stood alone for nearly eight decades before being tied by Otis Nixon (1991), Eric Young (1996), and Carl Crawford (2009).

Consecutive stolen base leaders (35 or more)

Records for consecutive successful stolen base attempts are limited by the available data, as times caught stealing has been recorded officially only since 1920. Max Carey established a mark in 1922–23 of 36 consecutive stolen bases without being caught,^[30] which stood until it was broken by Davey Lopes with 38 consecutive steals in 1975.^[30][31][32] Lopes's record was broken by Vince Coleman with 50 consecutive stolen bases in 1988–89.

Multiple-season stolen base records

League-leader stolen base records

Stolen base percentage leaders

Most stolen bases by a team in one season, by league

While not recognized as a major league by MLB, the National Association (NA) operated from 1871 through 1875, with the 1873 Boston Red Stockings amassing the most stolen bases in a single season, 145.^[51]

Most stolen bases by a team in one season (450 or more)

Records in this category are dominated by teams of the American Association, which operated from 1882 to 1891, and whose records are recognized by Major League Baseball. In particular, the top four entries in the below table are from the league's 1887 season, when every team in league had at least 305 stolen bases and the league average was 458 (each team played between 133 and 141 games).^[52]

Source:^[53]

Most stolen bases by a team in one season, 1901–present (300 or more)

The below table is restricted to teams that have competed since 1901, the first season of play for the American League.

Source:^[54]

Fewest stolen bases by a team in one season (less than 20)

Note: this table excludes teams from the shortened 2020 season.

Source:^[56]