I'm STILL amazed all these years later by that 1976 Oakland A's
team that absolutely ran wild on the base paths on their way to a
(still) American League record of 341 stolen bases!
So I created a 1977 "Highlights" card celebrating the feat. Take a look:
Even though they were still considered a team with "pop" with
sluggers Sal Bando, Gene Tenace and Joe Rudi in the line-up, they
featured no less than EIGHT players who stole 20 or more bases that
year!
As a matter of fact, those 341 stolen bases were almost a MAJOR
League record, falling just 6 behind the 1911 New York Giants for most
Post-1901.
Bill North (who ended up leading the league with 75), Bert
Campaneris and Don Baylor paced the team, combining for 181 steals
between them!
In addition to that mighty trio, Claudell Washington, Phil Garner,
Larry Lintz, Sal Bando and Matt Alexander joined them with 20 or more
steals.
Incredible.
I remember when the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals were stealing bases at a record pace, with rookie Vince Coleman leading the way.
But they fell short of the '76 A's, ending up with 314 steals, though STILL an impressive number to say the least.
