How Ohtani compares with single-season SB leaders

Shohei Ohtani's historic 50-50 season not only drew massive attention to his equally massive skill set, but Ohtani's quick feet helped keep high stolen-base totals a popular topic among baseball fans.

But despite Ohtani's talent and exploits in 2024, his steals total didn't even come close to cracking the top 10 of all time. In fact, nobody in recent decades has threatened any of those totals.

Here's a look at the players who've been the most fleet of foot throughout modern baseball history (since 1900).

130: Rickey Henderson, A's (1982)

Henderson showed immediately upon his arrival in the Majors in 1979 that he was going to be a headache for opponents once he reached first base. After leading the American League in steals in both 1980 and 1981, Henderson broke Lou Brock's single-season record of 118 steals on Aug. 27, 1982, against the Brewers. The future Hall of Famer didn't stop there and finished with a whopping 130, a record that might last forever.

118: Lou Brock, Cardinals (1974)

Hall of Famer Brock led the NL or MLB in steals seven times before 1974, but none of his totals approached the thievery he pulled off that season. His 118 bags swiped were 44 more than he'd ever stolen to that point and established a new big league record. What's also impressive is that he achieved such a gaudy record in his age-35 season.

110: Vince Coleman, Cardinals (1985)

Coleman's havoc wreaked on the bases in 1985 blazed a path all the way to the NL Rookie of the Year Award. As the leadoff sparkplug for the eventual NL champions, Coleman reaching first base was nearly as good as hitting a triple -- because there was a good chance he'd be at third base within a few pitches. And twice, he stole home, too.

109: Vince Coleman, Cardinals (1987)

Along with Henderson, Coleman emerged as a next-level stolen base threat during the '80s, leading the NL or MLB in steals in six straight seasons from 1985-90. He swiped 100 or more bags three times, including the 109 in 1987 -- another season in which he helped lead St. Louis to an NL pennant.

108: Rickey Henderson, A's (1983)

A year after setting the MLB record for most steals in a season, Henderson remained a menace on the bases. His 108 steals easily led the Majors during a second straight All-Star campaign. One obviously can't steal bases without getting on base, and Henderson was an on-base machine in the '80s. In 1983, he led the AL in walks (103) and carried a .414 OBP.

107: Vince Coleman, Cardinals (1986)

The middle season of Coleman's trilogy of 100 or more stolen bases from 1985-87 is especially impressive when you consider that his on-base percentage in 1986 was just .301. That meant that when he did get on base, he made the most of his opportunities. To wit: His 88.4 percent success rate that season was the highest of his career, as were his 31 steals of third.

104: Maury Wills, Dodgers (1962)

Wills was one of the premier base stealers of the '60s, having led the NL in the category in six straight seasons from 1960-65. He also became the first player to swipe 100 bags in the Modern Era, when he stole 104 in 1962 on his way to the NL MVP Award. What's noteworthy about that total is that it was more than double his previous single-season high of 50 set two years earlier, and was nearly 70(!) more than his total from 1961.

100: Rickey Henderson, A's (1980)

There was almost no stopping Henderson on the bases in the early '80s. He rang in the decade with the first 100-steal season of his career, then bested the century mark in two of his next three seasons. The 1981 players' strike is perhaps all that prevented Henderson from having four straight 100-steal seasons (he led the AL with 56 steals in 108 games that year).

97: Ron LeFlore, Expos (1980)

As under-discussed base thieves go, LeFlore is definitely up there. The 97 bags he stole for Montreal in 1980 were a career high and marked the second time in three seasons that he led the NL in steals. It was also the fourth time in his career that he stole 50 or more bases.

96: Ty Cobb, Tigers (1915)

Cobb's 96 steals in 1915 marked the first time a player stole 90 or more bases in the Modern Era, and the total was 41 swipes more than the next-closest player. It also marked a career high for Cobb, who led the AL or MLB in steals six times during his 24-year Hall of Fame career.

96: Omar Moreno, Pirates (1980)

Moreno entered 1980 having led the NL in steals the previous two seasons (his 71 steals in 1978 led all of MLB, too). The 96 he stole that season were a career high, but he fell just short of a third straight stolen base crown, thanks to LeFlore's 97. Still, those 96 steals are tied for the 10th-most all time.

Can anyone steal 100 again?

We've not seen anyone reach 100 steals in a season since Coleman's 109 in 1987. Henderson came closest, with 93 steals in 1988, but nobody's really threatened the mark since the quick-footed '80s. That doesn't mean there haven't been some exciting base stealers in the decades since.

Here are a few other notable stolen base seasons since 1990.

59: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (2024)

Ohtani founded the 50-50 club in 2024, then nearly made it to 60 steals. He also finished with 54 home runs, raising the question of whether a 60-60 season might be possible for him. It remains to be seen whether he'll continue to swipe bags at such a high rate when he returns as a two-way player in 2025. But we shouldn't put anything past him.

67: Elly De La Cruz, Reds (2024)

De La Cruz comfortably led MLB in steals pretty much all season in 2024. Like every other player on this list, when he's on base, he's a huge threat to advance. His 60th steal of 2024 made him just the fifth player in AL/NL history to join the 20-60 club. De La Cruz had 46 steals before the All-Star break, which briefly made a 100-steal season seem reasonable. It didn't happen, but if any current player could potentially reach 100, it's him.

73: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves (2023)

Acu?a's historic 40-70 season in 2023 allowed him to easily take the NL MVP Award. His 73 steals are the most of any member of the 40-40 club. Though a torn ACL in late May denied him a chance to match or improve on those numbers in 2024, a healthy Acu?a remains one of the biggest all-around threats in baseball.

78: Marquis Grissom, Expos (1992)

Grissom's 78 steals in 1992 are tied for the most in a single season since 1990. It was the second straight season he led the Majors in steals (he stole 76 in '91) and was one of three seasons in which he had 50 or more swipes. Though he slowed on the bases as his career advanced, Grissom did manage two 20-20 seasons -- 1996 with the Braves and 1999 with the Brewers.

78: José Reyes, Mets (2007)

Reyes led the NL or MLB in steals for three straight seasons from 2005-07. His 78 in 2007 were easily his career high, though he did have eight seasons in which he stole 30 or more. It's possible he would've had 78 or more steals in 2005 and 2006 -- two years when he led the league with 60 and 64 steals, respectively -- if he hadn't led MLB with 17 triples in both seasons.

75: Kenny Lofton, Cleveland (1996)

Even as stolen bases began to lose their luster in the '90s, Lofton was one who kept fighting the good fight. He led the AL or MLB in steals in five straight seasons starting in 1992, culminating with a career-high 75 in 1996. It also concluded a five-season stretch in which the six-time All-Star stole at least 60 bases.

65: Rickey Henderson, A's (1990)

The 65 bases Henderson stole in 1990 were enough to lead the AL, but were far off the totals seen in his glory days. But they were also a big reason why he was named the AL MVP. On May 29 that season, he stole his 893rd career base to pass Ty Cobb for the AL record. For the year, Henderson hit .325 with 28 homers and 1.016 OPS to go along with all those steals for the AL champions.