- Kenny Lofton has the most stolen bases in playoff history.
- Only three players have more than 20 career stolen bases.
- Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts are the only active players in the top 23.
Most playoff counting stats are dominated by players from the 21st century due to the increased number of postseason games. While there is plenty of modern-day representation on the list of players with the most stolen bases, only two active players have more than 10.
Naturally, players who played for teams that were frequently among the favourites in World Series odds had more opportunities to put up big stolen base totals.
Most Career Postseason Stolen Bases
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Stolen Bases |
| 1 | Kenny Lofton | Cleveland, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees | 34 |
| 2 | Rickey Henderson | Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners | 33 |
| 3 | Omar Vizquel | Cleveland | 23 |
| T-4 | Roberto Alomar | Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland | 20 |
| T-4 | Davey Lopes | Los Angeles Dodgers | 20 |
| 6 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | 18 |
| 7 | Joe Morgan | Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies | 15 |
| T-8 | Cody Bellinger | Los Angeles Dodgers | 14 |
| T-8 | Mookie Betts | Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers | 14 |
| T-8 | Lou Brock | St. Louis Cardinals | 14 |
| T-8 | Eddie Collins | Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox | 14 |
| T-12 | Johnny Damon | Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays | 13 |
| T-12 | Rafael Furcal | Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals | 13 |
| T-12 | Ron Gant | Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals | 13 |
| T-12 | Vince Coleman | St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners | 13 |
| T-12 | Willie Wilson | Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics | 13 |
| 17 | Marquis Grissom | Atlanta Braves, Cleveland | 12 |
| T-18 | Jacoby Ellsbury | Boston Red Sox | 11 |
| T-18 | Jimmy Rollins | Philadelphia Phillies | 11 |
| T-18 | Chase Utley | Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers | 11 |
| T-18 | Carlos Beltran | Houston Astros, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals | 11 |
| T-18 | Otis Nixon | Atlanta Braves | 11 |
| T-18 | Chuck Knoblauch | Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees | 11 |
Kenny Lofton has the most career postseason stolen bases, edging out Rickey Henderson.
Lofton and Henderson are also tied for the most stolen bases in a single playoff.
Notably, Henderson’s 33 stolen bases came in 176 fewer plate appearances than Lofton’s tally of 34. Henderson averaged a stolen base every 7.94 plate appearances, which was miles clear of Lofton, but was bettered by Lou Brock.
OTD in 1982: Rickey Henderson makes history by setting the single-season steals record 🏃♂️
Only SEVEN players this century have stole half as many bases in a season as Rickey Henderson did in 1982 (130 steals) 🤯 pic.twitter.com/0XPJemZUjE
— MLB (@MLB) August 27, 2024
Across 21 World Series games with the St. Louis Cardinals, Brock amassed 14 stolen bases, working out at a stolen base every 6.57 plate appearances.
Along with Henderson and Lofton, Davey Lopes is the only other player in MLB history to record double-digit stolen bases in a single postseason. Lopes did so for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981. While never among the baseball betting favourites to win MVP, Lopes was a vital player for the Dodgers in the 1970s and 1980s and finished his career with 42.4 bWAR.
Of the players listed here, Henderson and Lofton were caught stealing six times apiece, which is more than anyone else. Derek Jeter was caught five times with only 18 stolen bases, though, giving him a success rate of under 79%.
According to Stat Muse, Lonnie Smith and Frank Schulte are tied for the most times caught stealing in the playoffs with nine. They are the only players to have been caught stealing more often than Henderson and Lofton.
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