Robinson produced the first run on the game, doubling in the second inning and then moving to third base on a groundout. Robinson stole home a third time in 1947. Campanella doubled in the second run, in the second inning. Underlined ER numbers are ones I adjusted to reflect something other than the raw change in Expected Runs, twice due to busted plays (a hit-and-run on 7/26/47 and a suicide squeeze on 5/13/56), and twice due to other base-stealers attempting to take multiple bases, for which Robinson cannot be fairly credited (7/4/48) or debited (8/29/55). Robinson always kind of looked out. On Poats very first pitch, both Robinson and Hermanski took off. How Many Bases Did Jackie Robinson Steal In His Career 1 Jackie Robinson Steals Home. That might not even be what video evidence of the play shows. He was demonstrating his great quality and winning more fans doing that. He must have thought he had a shot at the plate. Date of Birth: Jan 31, 1919 - Oct 24, 1972 (53 years old) Place of Birth: See Rampersad, 44. In 2010, some 55 years later, an emissary on Berra's behalf even delivered a photo of the play to President Obama, signed by Berra, who had heard Obama refer to Robinson's famous steal. Did you know that the Silver Bat Award was originally called the Bud Hillerich Award, named for the founder of Louisville Slugger, and first given out to minor league batting champions starting in 1934? Carl Rowan writes that Robinson stole 25 bases in 24 games; see also Rowan with Robinson, Wait Till Next Year, 39. 32 Roscoe McGowen, Banta Downs Cubs with 5-Hitter, 5-0, New York Times, August 21, 1949: 42. (This lowers the Expected Runs gain on a success, as an additional advance always boosts the ER.). Inning over, but the score was 5-1, Dodgers. The rawer, less analytic numbers back this up. He was a crafty base-runner. As a volunteer with SABR, he has helped edit several dozen books and over 1,000 research articles. Robinson advanced to third base on the walk to Amoros. Had the call been closer, there might have been a ready excuse for a quick ejection of Robinson. Robinson made his first steal of home in the sixth to the extreme mortification of Harry, the Cat. So wrote Burr in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.24 The Cardinals were in from St. Louis. Robinsons steal of home in Game One of the 1955 World Series marked him forever as the daring, almost reckless runner who could and would steal any open base ahead of him, especially home plate. The Pirates won, 4-3. 17 Roscoe McGowen, Dodgers Count Four Times in 9th to Overcome Giants; 37 Players in Action, New York Times, July 5, 1948: 10. On a 3-and-1 strike to Pee Wee Reese, Robinson tried to steal home on what might have looked like a double steal. When further data become available, however, I intend to revise this article to reflect our new knowledge. Brooklyn won the game, 6-3. It was the first game. Of the top 10 home plate base-stealers of all time, Robinson is the only one to have played in the second half of the 20th century. Just go out there and run like the devil.6, In his very first game with the Montreal Royals, on April 18, 1946, Robinson bunted for a base hit in the fifth inning, stole second base, took third on a daring play on a grounder, and then began hopping around on third base and feinting breaks for home. You are invited to take the proverbial grain of salt, or maybe a larger dose, now, because I am going to bull ahead and draw conclusions from the data without burying myself in error bars or regressions to the mean. It was the only run they got that inning. Hed successfully stolen home off Hansen back on July 4. There had been two stolen bases, one run had come in, but there were two outs. A popup to the third baseman was the second out. Reese was at the plate. His favorite road site for the play was Pittsburgh, with five attempts at Forbes Field, four in his first two seasons. Robinson scored the first run of the game on Furillos second-inning homer. During the spring of 1946, Rickey had told Robinson, Jackie, we scouted you for a long time. It was another game when one run made a difference. Did you know that Jackie Robinson was traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers after the 1956 season, to the New York Giants, for Dick Littlefield and $30,000? The more Robinson danced, the more irritated Turley became. With Dixie Walker batting and the count 1-and-2, Furillo and Robinson tried to get another run in on a double steal. Robinson walked to lead off the inning. Third, the subject by its nature bears the burden of small sample size. Jackie had the best fielding average at second base in the National League in 1948, 1950, 1951, and turned the most double plays (at 2B) for four straight years (1949-1952)! A dash home by Jackie was usually a good omen for the Dodgers: They went 23-9 in games where he attempted to steal home. Robinsons last steal of the season was also against the Braves, the next time they came to Brooklyn. Each team had scored twice in the second inning and the game was a 2-2 tie heading into the fifth. Kellert then singled, but that was no means guaranteed, and, besides, a steal of home is tremendously exciting. 36 On page A3 of the July 3, 1950, Chicago Tribune, one can see a photograph of Robinson sliding in with plenty of room to spare. On a 2-and-2 count, a wild pitch saw both baserunners advance. Ty Cobb holds the all-time record for steals of home with a total of 54 over a 24-season career. 22 Roscoe McGowen, Brooks Overcome Flag Winners, 9-8, New York Times, September 29, 1948: 39. 43 Roscoe McGowen, Brooks Disappointed, Not Discouraged by Defeat and Showing of Newcombe, New York Times, September 29, 1955: 40. Reputation, however, is not enough for our generation of baseball fans. Robinson stole only 12 bases in 1950, less than a third of the total he had stolen in 1949. Too easy? Anyway, today, I kept going down and down, and before I knew it, I was home.39. See Rampersad, 74. 19 Roscoe McGowen, Brooks Turn Back Pirates by 4 to 3, New York Times, July 24, 1948: 10. copyright=new Date(); Born. Precisely how much his swipes of home benefited the Dodgers is beyond our reckoning, but I hope not for long as full records are developed for his early years in Brooklyn. In the top of the first inning, the Cubs went down one-two-three. Strike one. When it expanded to include the major leagues, Jackie Robinson and George Kell were the first MLB players to win it! Did you know that The Sporting News, in 1998, published a list of the 100 Greatest Players in baseball history, and Jackie Robinson was named the 44th greatest player ever? With Reese at bat and one strike on him, Robinson stole home. 21 Clif Keane, Conatser Homer Beats Dodgers, 4-3; Bums Steal 8 Bases, 5 in 5th, Boston Globe, August 23, 1948: 1. - Manager Chuck Dressen in Some Were Giants (Vaughan, R.K. Xlibris Publishing. 48 Summers was in the proper position for the pitch, but not in an ideal one to make a call. Jackie Robinson's famous steal of home at Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series is one of baseball's iconic moments, thanks in part to the enduring still and "new" moving images. Giants catcher Walker Cooper, alert to the fact that he couldnt nail Robinson, made a perfect throw to third base which would have gotten Gene Hermanski, on the other end of the double steal, but Sid Gordon stood still a few feet from the bag and let the ball go into left field.17 Hermanski came around to score on Gordons error. Murro opened the envelope. Second, the data for the first few years of Jackie Robinsons career are not as comprehensive as we are used to for more modern seasons. In the bottom of the second of a scoreless game against the visiting Cardinals, he hit an infield single to third base. In the top of the sixth, the Dodgers still held a 3-0 lead. Jackie Robinson Steals Home - YouTube Hodges was hitting, with the count 0-and-1, when Robinson tried in vain to steal the plate. I may have a new way. First-pitch bunting, he hit the ball back to the pitcher, while Robinson scored all the way from second base on the throw to first base to retire Hodges. The legendary Detroit Tigers' outfielder did it an impressive eight times in his career. I think that some of Jackies thefts of home were part showmanship in a good way. He had his famous steal against Whitey and Yogi as his lone World Series attempt, nudging the numbers to 20 for 32, 62.5 percent. By the end of the second, the Dodgers held a 5-0 lead over the Giants. This is a somewhat more unfavorable environment than today: From 2009 to 2011, the rates have been 33.5/31.0/32.3. There wasnt any question about it. [ Answer] Did you know that Reverend Jesse Jackson gave a brief, but stirring eulogy at the burial for Jackie Robinson who died on October 24, 1972 which took place at Cypress Hill Cemetery, in Brooklyn New York? Jackie Robinson: 10 Things You Didn't Know - The Harlem Times 2 of 11 In this day and age, I figured you're more likely to see Bigfoot than you are a straight steal of home at any point of a game. Furillo grounded out, second to first, and Robinson took third. See Louis Effrat, Dodgers Set Back Cubs by 5 to 4 on Single by Edwards in the Ninth, New York Times, August 5, 1948: 26. At the time, he was not in good graces with the umpiring staff.38, The Dodgers embarrassed the Boston Braves with a 15-5 beatdown at Braves Field, Don Newcombe extending his season mark to 19-9. Still at Forbes Field, the two teams played two on Sunday. Online archives of The New York Times, various dates 1947-1956 Yogi Berra awaits. I want you to run those bases like lightning. Jackie Robinsons skill at stealing home has not been exaggerated by his reputation. Robinson lined a triple to right field. But going for home is a different animal than stealing second or even third, and the break-even numbers do reflect this. Robinson was on third and faked a couple of breaks to the plate. Braves manager Tommy Holmes didnt mention Robinson in particular but griped that the Dodgers were trying to rub it in by running up the score. The Dodgers went down one-two-three in the first. In the first inning of the second game, he hit a one-out single off starter Andy Hansen. He come to stuff the goddamn bat right up your ass.". It would be tough to go through all the games and confirm that the Dodgers were seeing fewer lefty pitchers than league average (get me in the right mood, though, and I might do it), but on basic principles I have to think youre right. Are there moments where he did NOT need to steal home? Did you know that when Major League Baseball retired #42, April 15, 1997, for every team at the same time, President Bill Clinton delivered a Jackie Robinson Speech in the 5th inning of a game played in Shea Stadium? 45 Associated Press, Jackie Certain He Was Safe at Home, Los Angeles Times, September 29, 1955: C1. The only ridiculous thing about that play was the Yankees squawking about me being called safe. Afterward, Pee Wee Reese marveled, Look at that Robinson. Jackie Robinson's Steals of Home - Society for American Baseball Research Robinson stole home again. "Give me five players like (Jackie) Robinson and a pitcher and I'll beat any nine-man team in baseball." For a moment, I want to act as if those six plays didnt happen. Campanella took the first two pitches for balls. Three pitches later, Furillo grounded out, pitcher to first base. Number 42 stole home 19 times over the length of his ten-year career playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, good enough to tie for 9th all-time along with Frankie Frisch (who spent the first part of his career with the crosstown rival New York Giants). The Giants were at Ebbets and after six innings held an 8-3 lead. Jackie Robinson timeline | World History Project He had stolen second base in the fifth inning, one of five steals the Dodgers made in the course of the game. Page 55. Sure, sometimes youll get caught but just remember this: I prefer the daring player to one who is afraid to take a chance. One note on Robinson stealing more on righthanders than left handers. 8 30,000 See Robinson Sparkle in Montreal Debut, Baltimore Afro-American, April 20, 1946: 29. It was harder on him, but better for the rest of us. Hodges was up next. The Braves came back with three runs in the top of the eighth, and the game went into extra innings. It was also a rare reverse cycle (HR, 3B, 2B, 1B); Jackie collected his home run in the first inning, tripled in the third, hit a two-bagger in the fourth frame, and finished the cycle in reverse order when he hit a single in the eighth! [Manager Frankie] Frisch joined in the turbulent scene around the plate and he, too, was chased.32 Gore was off-balance and it took only a slight body contact to bowl him over.33 Nonetheless, he went down. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. The Cubs came to town and played a Monday game. After Kirby Higbe struck out both Duke Snider and Gene Hermanski, Robinson hit an infield single to the first baseman. var pfHeaderImgUrl = '';var pfHeaderTagline = '';var pfdisableClickToDel = 0;var pfHideImages = 0;var pfImageDisplayStyle = 'right';var pfDisablePDF = 0;var pfDisableEmail = 0;var pfDisablePrint = 0;var pfCustomCSS = 'https://www.baseball-almanac.com/css/print.css';var pfBtVersion='2';(function(){var js,pf;pf=document.createElement('script');pf.type='text/javascript';pf.src='//cdn.printfriendly.com/printfriendly.js';document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(pf)})(); Jack Roosevelt Robinson was a Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947-1956). The best situation for stealing home is with a runner on third only and two outs. During Robinsons career, the break-even rate ranged from a low of 33.7 percent to a high of 38.5 percent. It was Robinsons fifth steal of home for the season, and the 14th for the Dodgers as a team.22. Its three minutes. [Answer], Jackie Robinson Rookie Card | 1948 Leaf Baseball Card (#79)Baseball Almanac Collection. On a 2-and-0 count, all three baserunners stole the base ahead of them, Robinson stealing home on pitcher Bob Friend. Ty Cobb holds the major-league record for career steals of home, with 54 successful steals (1905-28). Hodges grounded out, pitcher to first base, while Robinson ran all the way from first to third on the play. On the first pitch, Robinson raced for the plate but was speared at the plate by an eyelash.23 The game went into extra innings, and Robinsons fleetness of foot paid off in the top of the 11th. The last time a National League player led his league in batting average and stolen bases was 1949, by Jackie Robinson, who hit .342 with 37 steals! retired number Baseball Hall of Fame (1962) Most Valuable Player (1949) six-time All-Star Baseball Hall of Fame (inducted in 1962) Rookie of the Year Award 1x batting champion . It's possible the ump was right; and Summers seems so sure, doesn't he? Snider on first, Robinson on third. And that ain't all, he stole home! | The Hardball Times 42 See page 28 with the lead caption, It Doesnt Pay to Steal.. I decided to look at that question, and some related ones. Robinson led off the bottom of the second, beating out a single to third base. Do you know what African-American made his debut 50+ years before Jackie? His career record for steals other than home was 182 for 246*, a success rate of 74.0 percent. The gain in Expected Runs comes out as +8.81, close to one full win over his career, going by the standard 10 runs = 1 win rule of thumb. 46 Berra Takes Blame for Steal, Boston Globe, September 9, 1955: 14. Brooklyn scored six runs in the inning, holding off the Cubs, who scored three. Leading off the bottom of the 13th, Robinson homered, winning the game. They scored once and had runners on first and second when the Pirates brought in Kirby Higbe to pitch to Robinson. Did you know Jackie Robinson was not the first Brooklyn Dodgers player to wear #42 in a regular season game? Robinson singled twice more in the game, scoring just the once. Jackie Robinson was months removed from doing so for the first time in his career.But easily his most memorable instance of stealing home came against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the 1955 . Editor's note: An earlier version of this post spelled Murro's name incorrectly. With Furillo at the plate, Robinson stole home on the very first pitch. The best part of the story might be Berra's dogged defense of his own reputation. Even with the more reckless tries thrown in, Robinson was well into positive territory with his steals of home. 2 This Day In Dodgers History: Jackie Robinson Steals Home Plate For First Time [1] September 28, 1955 | 00:00:28 Jackie Robinson steals home in Game 1 of the World Series, much to the objection of catcher Yogi Berra More From This Game Jackie Robinson Los Angeles Dodgers classic http://www.facebook.com/socialguidanc. They were playing a Tuesday afternoon game at Wrigley Field. Bob Muncrief was pitching in relief. Where what happened yesterday is being preserved today. Robinson himself said, I was playing baseball. Brooklyn trailed 1-0, Preacher Roe pitching against the visiting Cubs, as the Dodgers came up to bat in the bottom of the fourth. The fateful meeting with Yogi merely gave us the visual hook upon which to hang an established reputation. Baseball Prospectus He threw four straight balls to Gilliam, forcing in a run. Obviously upset, the right-hander could not prevent Robinsons steal of second, even with a pitchout. Robinson singled to right field, then wasted no time in stealing second on the first pitch to Hermanski. 41 Dave Anderson, Infielder Robinson One-Man Hurricane, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 24, 1954: 8. A great article! Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was an American baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. Did you know that Jackie Robinson lettered in baseball, basketball, football, and track at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1941 their first athlete to letter in all four of those sports during the same year? His stories have been translated into French, Russian and Japanese, and he was nominated for the 2002 Hugo Award. Then he tried to steal himself a run. The Cardinals Larry Jackson picked him off first base but the throw went wild, and Robinson ran all the way to third base. It was 3-1, Brooklyn, after 4. Bob Scheffing replaced Mickey Owen as catcher. Brooklyn lost the first game, 7-5; Robinson was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Awards And Honors. September 28, 1955: Jackie Robinson steals home for Dodgers in Game 1 40 The Count was 3 and 1, The Bases Were Loaded And Jackie Stole Home, New York Times, May 19, 1952: 21. The Dodgers held a 7-1 lead after six innings, then saw the Cardinals score once in the top of the seventh. He wasnt. With two outs and Duke Snider on first, and Cubs starter Monk Dubiel still on the mound, Robinson tripled to right field. On 3-and-1 pitch to Preacher Roe, Robinson and Hodges pulled off a double steal, while Walker stayed put on first base. He slid safely under Dixie Howell 's tag to give the Dodgers the lead, 3-2. Hodges singled to right, and Robinson took third. In 1949, the bats began booming, starting Brooklyns seven-year string of OPS+ titles. Robinson may be unfairly penalized for 1947-1949, his most prolific home-stealing years. A baseball centennial stamp was released in 1939, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the "invention" of the game, but no single player had ever been chosen to appear on a USPS issue until Jackie Robinson was selected! He was up against a Hall of Fame battery Whitey Ford on the Yankee Stadium mound and Yogi Berra behind the plate. It was a dumb play with his team two runs behind, but it worked and so it was a good one.46, Plate umpire Summers called Robinson safe. Given this proviso, however much it raises your sodium intake, the numbers say Robinsons attempted steals of home had a mean break-even rate of 46.1 percent. Jackie had the distinction of becoming the first black player to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. Other attempts came with men on base, or with only one out, or both, and the break-even numbers rose accordingly. Not so much if the call had been reversed, but because of the plodding delay it would have caused. On the first pitch to Furillo, Robinson stole home. 555 N. Central Ave. #406-C When it came to the top of the eighth, Robinson had scored twice and his two-run single made the score 12-3, Dodgers. It didnt work. (And now the sample is a little larger. Did you know that when the United States Post Office featured Jackie Robinson on a 20-cent postage stamp in 1982, it was the first time an individual big leaguer ever received the honor? I am sure that at least 9 of Babe's steals of home were double steals, could be all 10, going from memory on this one. The bases were loaded with one out. I could see the plate when I slid in. Many times the team will give second base today. Of the top 10 home plate base-stealers of all time, Robinson is the only one to have played in the second half of the 20th century. Great article insightful and incredibly well researched. His only other stolen base was in Game One of the 1955 Series, on September 28. Did you know that when Jackie Robinson hit for the cycle on August 29, 1948, he also scored three runs, drove in two runs, and stole a base? Beyond the sheer audacity of Robinson's attempt, the image of Summers signaling "safe, safe, safe, safe" with his arms as Berra invades his personal space is the best part of the video. The score was tied 1-1 after 5. This very likely skews the numbers, particularly since it was the highest-offense year of the 1950-1956 span, quite possibly a one-year fluke, and the break-even numbers on steals were commensurately higher. (I guess they heard the song.) The three tried a triple steal, and two of them succeeded, but the lead man Robinson was tagged out at the plate. Hermanski walked, and then two executed a double steal. LHPs accounted for roughly 30 percent of batters faced in this time frame, so Robinsons 31 percent rate shows no preference for testing the portsiders. Thanks to everyone for the warm compliments. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: mlb | pageType: stories | Even were we to comb the busted hit-and-runs out of the career totals and raise the rate a point or so, we would still be left with an astonishing conclusion. [Stolen Base Records]. References & ResourcesRetrosheet But insurance runs are always important. Sandy Amoros drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in another. His penchant for stealing home was strong enough that it made its way into the 1949 song Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?, whose lyrics I borrowed for my title. However, this almost perfectly reflects the game situations in which he stole. June 24, 1947: Jackie Robinson steals home for the first time with 18 Harold C. Burr, Dodger Flag Chase Sets League Ablaze, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 22, 1948: 17.