The Quest for 100 Steals: Can Carl Crawford or Anyone Else Do It?

(Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

If you've read my first two articles, "The Stolen Base: A Lost Art. Will we ever see a 100 Steal Man Again?" and "Gimmie Five! Dexter "The Prowler" Fowler Steals Five Bases in a Game," then you know I am a fan of the stolen base and its return to baseball prominence.

In short, I'd rather see a single player steal four bags a game than hit four home runs, and I've advocated the return of the 100-steal man.

I was fooled into thinking Emilio Bonifacio would be the man to do it, but he fizzled a few weeks into the season following a promising start.

I also was fooled by Dexter Fowler and his misleading five-steal game, which in fairness I questioned at the time as an outlier. Sadly, Dexter has stolen only two bases since April 27 and has crashed to 27th in the league stolen-base standings.

One man has been consistent through it all: Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays.

You may recall my saying that on the first of each month, I was going to post updates as to the stolen-base leaders and their quest for 100. However, thanks to ESPN's archiving, I cannot access these totals on any given date. Rather, they are simply updated nightly and one doesn't have the ability to go back and track progress on a desired date.

As of today, here are MLB's top five performers:

1. Carl Crawford

He has 36 stolen bases in 39 attempts through 65 games (34-31 team record), on pace for 91. He had 17 steals by May 1, thanks to the magnificent six-steal game (pictured above vs. Boston).

By June 1 he had 30 steals, which through two months still put him on pace for slightly more than 90 steals (an average of about 15 per month).

With six steals to date this month, he needs at least nine more to maintain this 90-plus pace. Thirteen more would give him 49 by July 1, thus keeping him on the 100-steal plateau.

2. Jacoby Ellsbury

He has 25 steals in 32 attempts through 63 games with the Boston Red Sox (38-25 currently), on pace for 69.

While I keep waiting for the historically pedestrian Red Sox organization to put a stop on him in favor of small ball, so far they have rejected this notion and I hope they continue. At 25 years old, he should have many more years like this in him.

3. B.J. Upton

He has 24 steals in 29 attempts through 65 games with Tampa Bay. Upton is on pace for 64. Like his competitors, Upton is young with vast potential for improvement that should only see these numbers rise in the future.

4. Chone Figgins

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