Just a couple of weeks ago, I bought some lucky bags on an online sports card shop. After opening some packs, I found a card that truly surprised me. It’s a relic card with a piece of jersey worn by Ichiro Suzuki. Additionally, I checked on information online and it seems that it’s a 2001 Upper Deck baseball card.
Ichiro Suzuki made his MLB debut in 2001. And, in 2001, it was the beginning of a great baseball journey. In his rookie season, he slashed .350/.381/.457 with 8 home runs and 69 RBI. Furthermore, he stole 56 bases, leading the majors. 56 stolen bases in a single season, well, that’s not normal in today’s baseball games.
In the 2022 season, the Rangers stole 128 bases, most among 30 MLB teams. Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien each had 25 stolen bases this season. Additionally, the Marlins had 122 stolen bases. Jon Berti led the majors with 41 stolen bases. No other players from the Marlins had at least 20 stolen bases in 2022. Moreover, the Guardians stole 119 bases in 2022. 3 players from the Guardians each had at least 20 stolen bases. Myles Straw had 21 stolen bases. Andres Gimenez and Jose Ramirez each had 20 SB this year.
In addition, the Chicago Cubs had 111 stolen bases this year and the Phillies had 105 SB. Moreover, 3 other teams each had more than 100 stolen bases in 2022.
Well, we see some teams with more than 100 stolen bases in 2022. However, at the same time, some teams just didn’t run that much. The Minnesota Twins only stole 38 bases this year and no Twins player reached 10 stolen bases. Additionally, the Rockies had 45 SB in 2022 and Garrett Hampson is the only Rockies player who had 10+ stolen bases. Meanwhile, the Tigers stole 47 bases this year and no one from the Tigers had at least 10 SB. Furthermore, the Padres didn’t have at least 50 stolen bases in 2022, either. Ha-Seong Kim is the only Padres player with 10+ stolen bases. Finally, the Red Sox had 52 stolen bases and Trevor Story led the Red Sox with 13 SB.
Ichiro Suzuki stole 56 bases in 2001 and in his legendary career, it’s the only season with at least 50 stolen bases. Back in 2001, the Mariners had 174 stolen bases, most among 30 MLB teams. In the meantime, the Red Sox were the only team with fewer than 50 stolen bases in 2001. Nonetheless, in 2022, we can see that there are 4 teams with fewer than 50 stolen bases. Additionally, the Red Sox only had 52 stolen bases, which is fewer than Ichiro’s 56 SB in 2001.
It has been rare to see players steal bases in today’s games. However, there will be several changes in the 2023 season. A key change is that the bases will be bigger. With bigger bases, it’s expected to see more stolen-base attempts. Let’s see whether this change will truly increase the number of steals. Perhaps, each team will have at least 50 bases in 2023?
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