Collette Calls: Steals on the Rise

Billy Hamilton and Delino DeShields Jr. have been making waves this season with their stolen-base skills. If not for the 132 steals Hamilton has piled up in just 110 games, DeShields would be garnering more attention as he is pushing 100 swipes.

It is nice to see the stolen base becoming a more active part in baseball and thus fantasy baseball leagues again after quite a drop-off in the past decade. In 1999, the league attempted 4,940 stolen bases which stands as the highest total since the league expanded to 30 teams in 1998. Just seven seasons later, the league hit a low point in 2005 as teams attempted just 3,634 steals which was a 26 percent reduction in attempts. The year-to-year flow for league-wide stolen-base attempts is shown in the graph below:

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