Ben Revere, 50 Steal Seasons, and Historic Efficiency

Since 1883, six Phillies combined to steal 50 or more bases 14 times. Some of the names are instantly recognizable by novice Phillies fans, like Juan Samuel and Ed Delahanty, some are great players seemingly lost to time, Sherry Magee and Billy Hamilton are examples of this type of player, and then there is the occasional head scratcher, a player that made the most out of his era like Ed Andrews.

With two steals yesterday, Ben Revere is just eight steals away from reaching the 50 steal mark. The last Phillie to reach 50 or more steals was Samuel in 1985, who did so while ranking fourth or higher among Major League second baseman in most statistical categories while simultaneously leading the National League in strikeouts. Revere is on pace for a similarly strange season in his own right: Revere trails the Pirates’ Josh Harrison by just two points headed into today’s game for the NL batting title and is the toughest player in the NL to strikeout but ranks just 40th out of 69 qualifying players in OBP and 52nd out of 69 qualifying players in OPS, one spot ahead of Ryan Howard.

Nevertheless, Revere could put himself in some elite company should he reach the 50 steals mark with the Phillies.

Here is a list of the top seasons in Phillies history in terms of number of steals.

Season	Name	SB
1891	Billy Hamilton	111
1890	Billy Hamilton	102
1887	Jim Fogarty	102
1889	Jim Fogarty	99
1894	Billy Hamilton	98
1895	Billy Hamilton	97
1984	Juan Samuel	72
1898	Ed Delahanty	58
1888	Jim Fogarty	58
1892	Billy Hamilton	57
1887	Ed Andrews	57
1886	Ed Andrews	56
1906	Sherry Magee	55
1985	Juan Samuel	53
1910	Sherry Magee	49
1905	Sherry Magee	48
1984	Von Hayes	48
2008	Jimmy Rollins	47
1895	Ed Delahanty	46
1907	Sherry Magee	46
1987	Milt Thompson	46
2001	Jimmy Rollins	46
1890	Al Myers	44
1893	Billy Hamilton	43
1887	Joe Mulvey	43
1899	Roy Thomas	42
2014	Ben Revere	42
1986	Juan Samuel	42

Since caught stealing was recorded inconsistently prior to 1950, it is tough to tell how successful some of the turn-of-the-century players were. What we can tell, however, is that there were very few Phillies to accomplish this feat after the early part of the 20th century. In fact, the Phillies went 78 years between Magee stealing 50+ in 1906 to Samuel reaching 50+ in 1984.

Revere’s potential 50 steal season, however, is shaping up to be something special on a different level. Among Phillies players with 40 or more steals since 1984, the end of a 73 year drought of 40+ steal seasons, Revere trails only Jimmy Rollins in steal success percentage:

Season	Name	SB	CS	Success Percentage
2008	Jimmy Rollins	47	3	0.94
2014	Ben Revere	42	5	0.893617021
2004	Bobby Abreu	40	5	0.888888889
2007	Jimmy Rollins	41	6	0.872340426
2005	Jimmy Rollins	41	6	0.872340426
2001	Jimmy Rollins	46	8	0.851851852
1984	Juan Samuel	72	15	0.827586207
1987	Milt Thompson	46	10	0.821428571
1984	Von Hayes	48	13	0.786885246
1986	Juan Samuel	42	14	0.75
1985	Juan Samuel	53	19	0.736111111

When narrowed down to 50+ steal seasons, Revere is on pace to be the most successful 50 SB campaign in Phillies’ history:

Season	Name	SB	CS	Success Percentage
2014	Ben Revere	42	5	0.893617021
1984	Juan Samuel	72	15	0.827586207
1985	Juan Samuel	53	19	0.736111111

And this season, Revere is among the best in quality and quantity, ranking fourth in steals in baseball with the second-best success rate among players with 25 steals or more:

Season	Name	SB	CS	Success Percentage
2014	Dee Gordon	58	15	0.794520548
2014	Billy Hamilton	55	21	0.723684211
2014	Jose Altuve	50	7	0.877192982
2014	Ben Revere	42	5	0.893617021
2014	Jacoby Ellsbury	37	5	0.880952381
2014	Carlos Gomez	29	10	0.743589744
2014	Jimmy Rollins	28	6	0.823529412
2014	Denard Span	27	5	0.84375
2014	Alcides Escobar	27	3	0.9
2014	Starling Marte	25	9	0.735294118

In fact, Revere’s quantity/quality ratio is among the best in history. Revere currently ranks 17th in stolen base success percentage among players with 42 or more steals in a season:

Season	Name	Team	SB	CS	Success Percentage
2006	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	45	2	0.957446809
2008	Jimmy Rollins	Phillies	47	3	0.94
2004	Carlos Beltran	– – –	42	3	0.933333333
2013	Jacoby Ellsbury	Red Sox	52	4	0.928571429
1978	Davey Lopes	Dodgers	45	4	0.918367347
1969	Bobby Bonds	Giants	45	4	0.918367347
1979	Davey Lopes	Dodgers	44	4	0.916666667
2008	Ichiro Suzuki	Mariners	43	4	0.914893617
1965	Jimmy Wynn	Astros	43	4	0.914893617
1980	Jerry Mumphrey	Padres	52	5	0.912280702
1995	Barry Larkin	Reds	51	5	0.910714286
1987	Tim Raines	Expos	50	5	0.909090909
2012	Mike Trout	Angels	49	5	0.907407407
2008	Willy Taveras	Rockies	68	7	0.906666667
1984	Willie Wilson	Royals	47	5	0.903846154
1997	Tony Womack	Pirates	60	7	0.895522388
2014	Ben Revere	Phillies	42	5	0.893617021

While Revere may be putting together one of the emptiest lines for any potential batting champion ever, he is also teetering around the 90% stolen base success mark while forging toward 50 steals. Among players with 50 steals or more, Jacoby Ellsbury leads the pack with a 92.86% in 56 attempts just last season. While Revere likely won’t be able to reach the heights Ellsbury did last season, he could tie the second best percentage of all time should he be able to steal ten more consecutive bases without getting caught:

Season	Name	Team	SB	CS	Success Percentage
2013	Jacoby Ellsbury	Red Sox	52	4	0.928571429
1980	Jerry Mumphrey	Padres	52	5	0.912280702
1995	Barry Larkin	Reds	51	5	0.910714286
1987	Tim Raines	Expos	50	5	0.909090909
2008	Willy Taveras	Rockies	68	7	0.906666667
1997	Tony Womack	Pirates	60	7	0.895522388
2014	Ben Revere	Phillies	42	5	0.893617021
1987	Eric Davis	Reds	50	6	0.892857143
1962	Maury Wills	Dodgers	104	13	0.888888889
1985	Rickey Henderson	Yankees	80	10	0.888888889

And that accomplishment would put Revere into some pretty cool base-stealing company.