I was just playing around with the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia, looking at the Yankees team SB success rates from 1940, and, well, here they are:
YEAR SB CS SBS% 2006 139 35 79.9% 1988 146 39 78.9% 2005 85 27 75.9% 2007 123 40 75.5% 2001 161 53 75.2% 1991 109 36 75.2% 2008 118 39 75.2% 1964 54 18 75.0% 2003 98 33 74.8% 1944 91 31 74.6% 1985 155 53 74.5% 1986 139 48 74.3% 1990 119 45 72.6% 2002 100 38 72.5% 2004 84 33 71.8% 1976 163 65 71.5% 1987 105 43 70.9% 1998 153 63 70.8% 1980 86 36 70.5% 1978 98 42 70.0% 1989 137 60 69.5% 1955 55 25 68.8% 1992 78 37 67.8% 1942 69 33 67.6% 1996 96 46 67.6% 2000 99 48 67.3% 1959 45 22 67.2% 1951 78 39 66.7% 1983 84 42 66.7% 1949 58 30 65.9% 1999 104 57 64.6% 1968 90 50 64.3% 1965 35 20 63.6% 1975 102 59 63.4% 1970 105 61 63.3% 1997 99 58 63.1% 1967 63 37 63.0% 1972 71 42 62.8% 1966 49 29 62.8% 1995 50 30 62.5% 1940 59 36 62.1% 1977 93 57 62.0% 1984 62 38 62.0% 1963 42 26 61.8% 1960 37 23 61.7% 1969 119 74 61.7% 1981 47 30 61.0% 1961 28 18 60.9% 1941 51 33 60.7% 1982 69 45 60.5% 1974 53 35 60.2% 1958 48 32 60.0% 1945 64 43 59.8% 1950 41 28 59.4% 1962 42 29 59.2% 1979 65 46 58.6% 1956 51 37 58.0% 1994 55 40 57.9% 1946 48 35 57.8% 1971 75 55 57.7% 1957 49 38 56.3% 1952 52 42 55.3% 1947 27 23 54.0% 1993 39 35 52.7% 1973 47 43 52.2% 1948 24 24 50.0% 1954 34 41 45.3% 1953 34 44 43.6% 1943 46 60 43.4%
I think it’s pretty safe to say that the 2005-07 Yankees were the best base stealing unit in modern Yankees history.
Here’s who led that effort – guys who stole bases for the Yanks from 2005 through 2007:
Player SB CS SBS% Tino Martinez 2 0 100.0% Jason Giambi 3 0 100.0% Jorge Posada 6 0 100.0% Matt Lawton 1 0 100.0% Kevin Reese 1 0 100.0% Kevin Thompson 2 0 100.0% Miguel Cairo 21 2 91.3% Tony Womack 27 5 84.4% Gary Sheffield 15 3 83.3% Alex Rodriguez 60 14 81.1% Bubba Crosby 8 2 80.0% Johnny Damon 52 13 80.0% Bobby Abreu 35 10 77.8% Derek Jeter 63 18 77.8% Melky Cabrera 25 10 71.4% Aaron Guiel 2 1 66.7% Hideki Matsui 7 4 63.6% Bern. Williams 3 2 60.0% Robinson Cano 10 10 50.0% Nick Green 1 1 50.0% Andy Phillips 3 5 37.5%
Miguel Cairo, Tony Womack, and Gary Sheffield are a big reason why the Yankees did so well then – along with, of course, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu and Derek Jeter.
I wonder: Will we ever see the Yankees (again) have a three year span where they had so many guys who ran well? And, if they do, will anyone notice? Did anyone notice what was happening from 2005 to 2007?
8 Responses to “2005-07 Yanks: Great Stealing Team That No One Noticed?”
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November 29th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
It amazes me that Matsui and Posada had any SB. Must have all been caught sleeping steals
November 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
,…or trailing runner on a double steal
November 29th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Love seeing Tino top that list
The Yankees really have gone under the radar with SBs over this span, but I think it’s because we’ve never really had a legitimate burner, only baserunners who are above-average in speed, but know how to run the bases well, like Rodriquez, Abreu, and Jeter.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
HA! Cairo was good for something!
November 29th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Also, shouldn’t Jorge be at the top of the list? Since he shares the highest % but has the most SBs?
November 30th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Can’t say I “noticed” it happening, but I always knew that Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are two of the best baserunners in all of baseball… they really pick their spots when it comes to stealing bases and they always make great decisions when the ball is in play.
November 30th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I was just looking at the Yankees’s team single season SB vs. the league average figures since 1940.
The 2006 Yankees were +50. That’s the 2nd best Yankees figure during that time.
The only figure better was 1985, when the Yankees were +52. Well, Rickey Henderson was +70, so everyone else was -18. So, actually, Rickey Henderson was the best stealing Yankees team.
And, for the record, the 2007 team was 10th, at +26, and the 2008 team was tied for 12th, at +24.
November 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I just took a look at the Yankees’s single season CS vs. the league average figures, since 1940.
The best figure from 2005-present was 2005. But, unlike the SB figures, that team was all the way down at a tie for 25th on the list, with +9 (and, yes, that does mean 9 CS less than the league average, not 9 more than it).
The 2006 team was just +1, putting them in a tie for 45th. 2007 was -5 and 2008 was -4, ranking T56 and T53, respectively.