There are fast players, and there are smart players. But the best MLB base stealers in history have a unique mix of these two attributes, coupling blazing speed on the basepaths with an uncanny ability of knowing when to apply it.

The list below contains the best players to ever display those skills. Each one of them represented a threat to the pitcher once they reached base, often turning a walk into a double with a steal. Or they drove the pitcher to distraction by continually making a move to steal third or, for the truly best, home plate.

Stealing Is Part of the Game

If you played organized baseball at most levels, you know that it’s typically the third base coach, often relaying singles from the manager in the dugout, who gives a runner at first base the command to steal second. It’s a big deal to steal second, because it puts the runner in “scoring position,” meaning a fast runner can score on any deeply hit single.

MLB notes that steals have been a part of the game since the 19th century. While stealing a base is a vital weapon in the manager’s arsenal, they don’t always make the call. The best runners get what is known as the “green light,” meaning they can steal a base when they feel like they have a good chance of success. The following 10 players definitely had the green light.

1. Rickey Henderson

Career stolen bases: 1,406

The thing that the statistics don’t show is just how fun Henderson was to watch. At the height of his career, he could take over an inning, forcing pitchers and fielders into mistakes as they tried to anticipate his moves or beat him with a throw. He played for many teams in his career (1979-2003), but is best remembered (and went into the Hall of Fame) as an Oakland Athletic. He stole an astounding 130 bases in 1982.

2. Lou Brock

Career stolen bases: 938

Brock played from 1961 to 1979, most of those years with the St. Louis Cardinals. His biggest stolen base year came in 1974, when he stole 118 bases at the age of 35.

3. Billy Hamilton

Career stolen bases: 914

Hamilton played from 1888 to 1901, spending most of career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters. He stole 100 bases in four years, and also earned more than 100 walks in four years. He would be the dream leadoff hitter for a modern, analytics-driven baseball team.

4. Ty Cobb

Career stolen bases: 897

Cobb may have the reputation as being one of the meanest and generally disagreeable players in MLB history, but he could play. Stealing was a big part of his game. He hit his peak in steals in 1915, swiping 96 bags. A lifetime .366 hitter, Cobb also spent a lot of time on base, giving him plenty of opportunities to steal.

5. Tim Raines

Career stolen bases: 808

With the Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees, Raines not only hit well (.294 lifetime average) but also ran like the wind, stealing at least 50 bases in eight seasons. His high water mark came in 1983 with the Expos, when he stole 90 bases.

6. Vince Coleman

Career stolen bases: 752

Coleman played 13 years from 1985 to 1997. His best years came with the Cardinals and the New York Mets. His fastest years came in St. Louis, where he stole more than 100 bases in his first three seasons in the majors. He was named National League Rookie of the Year in 1985.

7. Arlie Latham

Career stolen bases: 742

Latham played from 1880 to 1896, and made short-lived comebacks in both 1899 and 1909 (the second time as player/coach of the New York Giants). He became the oldest player to steal a base in that 1909 season, when he was 49 years old.

8. Eddie Collins

Career stolen bases: 741

Collins played for 25 years in MLB, starting in 1906 with the Philadelphia Athletics, a team he spent most of his career with. He stole at least 20 bases in 15 out of 16 seasons between 1909 and 1924. He played on six World Series champions, He also played on the 1919 Chicago White Sox team that threw the World Series, but was not considered part of the conspiracy.

9. Max Carey 

Career stolen bases: 738

Carey played from 1910 to 1929, mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He led the league in stolen bases in 10 seasons, with the biggest number of steals coming in 1916 (63).

10. Honus Wagner 

Career stolen bases: 723

Wagner, one of the best players of all time, was a prolific base stealer. He played from 1897 to 1917, all but the first three seasons with the Pirates. He had double digit steals in every single one of those seasons, except his last one, when at the age of 43 he stole five bases.

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