The Best Baserunning Teams

As we approach the All-Star Break, let’s examine the best baserunning teams so far this season. We will do so using Net Gain—a statistic created by Bill James that measures baserunning by looking at advancements on hits and outs in addition to stolen bases.

Here are the best baserunning teams thus far:

The Diamondbacks are ranked as the best baserunners in baseball. As Ben Lindbergh pointed out a few weeks ago, the bulk of their success on the basepaths this season hasn’t come from stolen bases. While still respectably tied for 8th in Stolen Bases Gained (after finishing 1st in 2016), their triumph comes from their ability to advance on hits and outs. They rank first in their overall advancement percentage as the only team that has advanced on over 50 percent of its opportunities (50.9 percent) and trail only the Twins in avoiding double plays. The Diamondbacks have hit into double plays on only 49 out of 548 opportunities (8.9 percent). They have also made the fewest outs due to their baserunning with only 11.

In second place are the Texas Rangers who finished 16th last season. They lead the league in Bases Taken—plays in which a baserunner moves up a base on a Wild Pitch, Passed Ball, Balk, Sacrifice Fly, or Defensive Indifference—with 113. They have been powered by Delino DeShields who leads the league in Net Gain with 30. DeShields has yet to be involved in a double play—0 of 36 opportunities—and has advanced on 69.6 percent of his opportunities.

The best basestealing team is the Billy Hamilton-led Cincinnati Reds with 35 Stolen Bases Gained, 9 more than the second place Nationals and Royals. However, they only rank 14th overall in Net Gain due to their poor baserunning advancement. They have only advanced on 35.6 percent of their opportunities (4th worst in the league) and have only 67 Bases Taken (tied for 3rd worst in the league).