(Updated May 11, 2018)
In 2012, Yadier Molina established a Cardinals standard for most stolen bases by a catcher in a season. Molina had 12 steals, 11 as a catcher and one as a pinch-hitter.
Molina also swiped nine bases in 2009 and nine again in 2017. Other Cardinals catchers with nine stolen bases in a season include Tim McCarver (1966), Tom Pagnozzi (1991) and Eli Marrero (1999).
McCarver achieved his career high in steals on 15 attempts. Marrero had 11 steals overall, nine as a catcher, for the 1999 Cardinals. Marrero also swiped 14 for the 2002 Cardinals, but just one of those was as a catcher.
Pagnozzi’s achievement is the most interesting. He turned 29 during the 1991 season and earned the everyday catcher job for the first time. Under manager Joe Torre, the 1991 Cardinals made stolen bases a key part of their offense. Their 202 steals ranked second in the major leagues, behind only the Expos (221).
Most impressively, the 1991 Cardinals became the first big-league team since the 1917 White Sox to have nine players with 10 or more stolen bases.
The Cardinals wanted more. They set their sights on having 10 players with 10 or more steals, something no big-league team had done since the 1912 Senators.
The Cardinals’ chance to match the Senators depended on Pagnozzi getting one more steal.
In the final series of the season, at Chicago against the Cubs, Pagnozzi attemped three steals but was thrown out each time by Hector Villanueva, a catcher “not renowned for his arm,” wrote Rick Hummel in The Sporting News.
The final attempt came in the ninth inning of the last game of the season, Oct. 6. After catcher Ray Stephens singled with one out, Torre sent in Pagnozzi to run. With second baseman Luis Alicea at the plate, Pagnozzi took off for second, but the throw from Villanueva to shortstop Shawon Dunston beat him. Boxscore
“Wait until next year,” Pagnozzi said. “That’s what they say, isn’t it?”
The nine members of the 1991 Cardinals with at least 10 steals were: outfielder Ray Lankford (44), shortstop Ozzie Smith (35), outfielder Felix Jose (20), third baseman Todd Zeile (17), outfielder Milt Thompson (16), second baseman Geronimo Pena (15), first baseman Gerald Perry (15), outfielder Bernard Gilkey (14) and utilityman Rex Hudler (12).
Previously: A peek behind the scenes at Cardinals Legends Camp
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