Rickey Henderson is the gift that keeps on giving. On this Christmas Day, Rickey’s 64th birthday, we look back on just one of the numerous incredible feats he accomplished during his Hall of Fame career: setting the single-season stolen base record 40 years ago.
On Aug. 27, 1982, Henderson broke Lou Brock’s mark of 118 steals in a season by swiping second base in the third inning of the Athletics’ 5-4 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee. He set the new mark in style — the record-breaking steal was the first of four Henderson would have on the night en route to 130 for the season. It also came on a Brewers pitch-out; they couldn’t catch him no matter what they tried that night.
Here’s a look at just how incredible Rickey’s unforgettable 1982 campaign was:
Only five players in this century stole half as many bases in a season as Henderson did in 1982
Yes, stolen bases have been down in recent years, but what Rickey did in 1982 remains jaw-dropping by any measure and in any era. This is illustrated by the fact that only five players since 2000 have stolen even half as many bases as his 1982 total of 130: Scott Podsednik stole 70 for the Brewers in 2004, Jose Reyes stole 78 for the Mets in ’07, Willy Taveras stole 68 for the Rockies in ’08, Jacoby Ellsbury stole 70 for the Red Sox in ’09, and Juan Pierre stole 68 for the White Sox in ’10.
Only three other players in the modern era of AL/NL history (since 1900) stole 100 or more bases in a season
Other than Henderson, who did it three times in his career (1980, ’82 and ’83), only three other men in the modern era of AL/NL history stole at least 100 bases in a single season — Maury Wills (104 in 1962), Lou Brock (118 in 1974) and Vince Coleman (110 in 1985, 107 in ’86, and 109 in ’87).
Only 14 teams stole more than 130 bases in a season over the last 10 years
Don’t worry, your eyes are not deceiving you — it’s true: only 14 teams compiled 130 or more steals in a season since 2013. They are the 2013 Brewers (142), the 2013 Rangers (149), the 2013 Royals ( 153), the 2014 Royals (153), the 2014 Dodgers (138), the 2015 D-backs (132), the 2015 Reds (134), the 2016 D-backs (137), the 2016 Reds (139), Cleveland in 2016 (134), the 2016 Brewers (181), the 2017 Angels (136), Cleveland in 2018 (135), and the 2019 Rangers (131).
So in the past three seasons, no team stole as many bases as Henderson swiped in 1982.
Henderson stole four bases in a game three times in 1982 — there have been no individual four-steal games in MLB in the last three seasons
Rickey stole four bases in a game three times during the 1982 season, including on Aug. 27, in the game in which he set a new single-season steals record. In the past three seasons, no one has swiped four bags in a single game. To find three such instances, you’d need to go back to 2018-19. On Aug. 12, 2018, the Padres’ Travis Jankowski stole four bases against the Phillies. On May 27, 2019, the Mariners’ Mallex Smith stole four against the Rangers. And on Sept. 24, 2019, the Marlins’ Jon Berti stole four against the Mets.
Henderson nearly had as many steals as hits in 1982
Rickey had 143 hits in 1982, just 13 more than the number of stolen bases he recorded that season. Not only that, he actually had 25 more steals than singles (105).
Henderson stole 15 bags against a single team in 1982
Rickey racked up double-digit steal figures against five teams in ’82. He stole 15 on Cleveland pitchers and catchers alone. He also stole 13 against the Brewers — including four the night he set the record — 13 against the Mariners, 13 against the Orioles and 12 against the Twins.
Henderson was caught stealing more times than all but seven players’ steal total in 1982
Tim Raines (78), Lonnie Smith (68), Omar Moreno (60), Mookie Wilson (58), Damaso Garcia (54), Steve Sax (49) and Julio Cruz (46) were the only players to steal more bases in 1982 than the number of times Rickey was caught stealing — 42.
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