Triple and SB Fun III - Anti-Hustlers

Anti-Hustlers

Even more mysterious than the hustler is the player or team that steals bases at a good clip, but cannot make it past second on a batted ball.

Starting with teams, there have been a number with unbelievablely lopsided 3B/SB ratios. It seems pretty illogical that a team can steal a base every day, but hit a triple only once a week. But in baseball you never say never. Eighteen--count 'em!--eighteen teams have done this.

Teams with 150 SB, 25 or fewer 3B

Team	Year	SB	3B	2B
LAN	1986	155	14	232
NYN	1999	150	14	297
OAK	1991	151	19	246
TOR	1998	184	19	316
CAL	1992	160	20	202
NYA	2001	161	20	289
NYN	1989	158	21	280
SDN	1999	174	22	256
ATL	1982	151	22	215
HOU	1995	176	22	260
ATL	1999	150	23	309
CLE	1996	162	23	345
LAN	1999	167	23	253
HOU	1999	166	23	293
CAL	1993	169	24	259
NYN	1991	153	24	250
CIN	1988	207	25	246
OAK	1989	157	25	220

So how does a team like the '96 Indians steal 162 bases, hit 345 doubles, and only 23 triples? That's 15 doubles for each triple! For a fast team that seems strange indeed. Were these accomplished in bad triple-hitting parks? A few of them, at least. I'll save that for another day (or another person...anyone?). A regression analysis of triples to stolen bases would also be instructive. There's an intuitive correlation, but is there a real one?

My favorite team season is the 1976 Oakland A's, who stole an astonishing 341 bases--123 more than any other team--but finished 18th of the 24 teams in with only 33 triples.

And the offending individuals? Some you'd expect, some not. Here are the players who have stolen 30 bases while hitting nary a triple.

Name	Year	SB	3B	2B
Miguel Dilone	1978	50	0	8
Mariano Duncan	1986	48	0	7
Davey Lopes	1985	47	0	11
Jose Canseco	1988	40	0	34
Rickey Henderson	1999	37	0	30
Bob Dernier	1983	35	0	10
Eric Davis	1993	33	0	17
Frank Taveras	1980	32	0	27
Derek Jeter	2002	32	0	26
Larry Lintz	1976	31	0	0
Lenny Dykstra	1992	30	0	18
Jeff Bagwell	1999	30	0	35

Bagwell, Jeter, and Dykstra are surprises. They are generally known as hustlers. How'd they never make it to third? Henderson and Canseco, less so. By the way, Larry Lintz having zero doubles is not a misprint...he actually had only one at-bat all season! Manager Chuck Tanner used him exclusively as a pinch-runner that year. He retired with almost as many steals (128) as hits (140)!

Props to loyal reader Ankur Roy for this bit of Extra Esoterica: This season, Scott Podsednik is leading the league with 56 steals and is holding steady with exactly zero triples. If he keeps it up, he will take the above title away from "freak-1980" Miguel Dilone. My guess? He'll pull a Rey Ordonez (he of the one homer a year, hit in September) and get one in the next week or two. Update: As I wrote this paragraph a week ago, this was true. Wouldn't you know it, last Tuesday, Podsednik hit his first triple of the year! Oh well...sadness in the world of Esoterica.

Careerwise, there are 10 speedsters with 250 steals who finished with 10 times as many steals as triples (min. 2000 AB). Here they are.

Name	Year	SB	3B	SB/3B	2B
Otis Nixon	1983	620	27	22.96	142
Rickey Henderson	1979	1406	66	21.30	510
Eric Davis	1984	349	26	13.42	239
Billy North	1971	395	31	12.74	120
Julio Cruz	1977	343	27	12.70	113
Tommy Harper	1962	481	38	12.66	266
Davey Lopes	1972	557	50	11.14	232
Miguel Dilone	1974	267	25	10.68	67
Don Baylor	1970	285	28	10.18	366
Eric Young	1992	450	45	10.00	312

Wow. Considering that Rickey hit over 500 doubles, you'd think he'd be able to get to third more than one out of every nine non-HR extra-base hits. Some of the others just didn't get a lot of hits, period. Park factors could be a factor for Dodger Davy Lopes. The others? I call them anti-hustlers. Maybe there are factors I'm not considering, but consider this: Tommy Harper stole at least 23 bases 11 times and hit at least 22 doubles six times in 12 years, but never hit more than five triples in any of them...

Honorable mention to the venerable Henry Cotto with just nine triples to go with his 130 steals.

Additional kudos to Bengie Molina for steering clear of this debate. The eldest Molina has compiled the fewest total triples and stolen bases (min. 2000 AB) with only 2 triples and 2 steals.

Any ideas on the hustler or anti-hustler phenomenon? I'd love to hear your ideas. Leave a comment or drop me a line.