Fast and Furious Boston Red Sox style
By Rick McNair
Some Early Talent
Heinie Wagner played 11 of his 12 seasons for the Red Sox and stole 144 bases before calling in a career in 1918. Wagner never stole more than 26 bases for Boston and in the 1912 championship year, Wagner stole 21 and was caught 20 times. Examining the totals nothing exceptional stands out for Wagner in an age when steals totals in his range were considered average.
The oft-injured shortstop and second baseman was noted for his defensive skills and finished his career as a .250 hitter. Injuries cost Wagner the opportunity to be on the 1915, 1916 and 1918 World Series teams and Wagner is fifth on the Red Sox team list for steals.
Larry Gardner played on three Boston championship teams – 1912, 1915 and 1916 – primarily as a third baseman. Gardner is also in the Boston stolen base rankings with 134 while posting 10 seasons with the Red Sox and slashed .282/.350/.377.
Gardner was a left-handed hitter, but what discounts his thievery is his CS totals in the years that those records are available and formulated by painstaking research. In 1912, Gardner was 25/23 in steals and in 1914 it was 16/23. With Cleveland in 1920, the Indians won the World Series and Gardner led the league in games played. What about steals? Gardner was 3/20. So, again, Gardner is apparently a product of his time where running was encouraged no matter what the skill level or potential outcome.
Freddy Parent was a shortstop and outfielder and an original member of the Red Sox inaugural team and a member of the 1903 championship team. Parent ranks seventh on the Red Sox leader board with 129 steals in seven seasons. The highest total Parent achieved was 25 steals in 1905 with Boston, but had 32 with the Chicago White Sox. There is no accounting for his CS%.