when i used to play baseball, i thought that striking out and reaching first on a wild pitch was known as stealing first base. Why doesn't the majors record that as such a stat?
rugby5513 wrote:when i used to play baseball, i thought that striking out and reaching first on a wild pitch was known as stealing first base. Why doesn't the majors record that as such a stat?
No, it's just recorded as a strikeout, and you get to go to first.
Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
Amazinz wrote:Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
Amazinz wrote:Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
Why would you want to do that?
Maybe so they could pad their steal totals? After all, steals were worth 1,000 points in points leagues back in the day
Last edited by nsulham on Sat Jun 25, 2005 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Amazinz wrote:Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
I had a cousin who tried to run to 3rd base instead of 1st. I'm not sure if he was going for the steal though.
My apologies. I have a nephew named Anfernee, and I know how mad he gets when I call him Anthony. Almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Anfernee.
Amazinz wrote:Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
Why would you want to do that?
It was pretty rare, but usually it was done with a man on third in an attempt to draw a throw from the catcher and double steal.
Amazinz wrote:Yeah there's no such thing as stealing first base. It's either a wild pitch or a passed ball. I have a baseball book of oddities that talks about a couple of instances where a player attempted to "steal first" from second in the old days but reverse stealing is illegal nowadays.
Why would you want to do that?
It was pretty rare, but usually it was done with a man on third in an attempt to draw a throw from the catcher and double steal.
Yeah it was used as a diversion and it only happened a handful of times at best. Here's a little blurb on it from Wikipedia:
It is sometimes thought that first base can be "stolen", because the batter becomes a runner if the catcher fails to catch a third strike. But if the batter reaches first base as a result, it is recorded not as a stolen base, but as a passed ball or wild pitch. The last recorded instance of a player "stealing" first base during a conventional, caught pitch occurred on September 4, 1908. Detroit's Germany Schaefer, in a game against Cleveland, was on second base and his teammate Davy Jones was on third. In an attempt to draw a throw that would permit Jones to safely steal home, Schaefer bolted for first base. Cleveland's catcher didn't fall for the trick and held the ball, allowing Schaefer to "steal" first base. In another instance, after a botched double steal wherein the man on third (Davy Jones again), failed to try for home while Schaefer had reached second safely from first, Schaefer proclaimed that he'd try again, and darted back to first on the next pitch. This tactic of reverse-stealing has since been outlawed.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
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by rugby5513 » Sat Jun 25, 2005 9:53 am 
