A's Rookie Esteury Ruiz steals 43rd base, makes history!

It took Oakland Athletics' rookie Esteury Ruiz a few days to finally do it, but the outfielder finally stole an MLB-leading 43rd base on Wednesday on his way to becoming the absolute record-holder among A's rookies in the category.

With his latest steal against the Tigers in the A's Wednesday's 12-3 win, Ruiz is now atop the A's rookie ranks in stolen bases as the Latin outfielder broke Mitchell Page's mark achieved all the way back in 1977 when he committed 42 thefts.

The American League rookie stolen bases record is in possession of Kenny Lofton, who stole 66 bases nearly 30 years ago in 1992. Ruiz is on pace to realistically (and easily, most probably) steal 60+ bags this season as long as he doesn't miss much time and his production stays consistent.

The A's have a long history of base stealers, led of course by the legendary Rickey Henderson and his mighty efforts running the bases when the game didn't really call for it. Henderson has the top-3 stolen-bases seasons in the history of the A's with 100, 108, and 130 SB in three different campaigns at the start of the 1980s.

Ruiz, as ridiculous as it sounds, has already put together a top-33 season on that front after snatching his 43rd steal of the year. Reaching 44 steals would tie him for 32nd, and reaching 50 SB would bring him into a select 28-player-season group of former A's players.

The A's single-season stolen bases record belongs to Hall of Fame and franchise legend Rickey Henderson, who got himself 130 steals in 1982.

Ruiz was forced off Wednesday's game early, though, after suffering an injury in the seventh inning backtracking to first base. He seemingly banged up a shoulder.

After the game, as reported by ABC News, Kotsay told reporters that Ruiz injured his throwing arm (right) and that he "will get an X-ray and possibly an MRI in the morning." The A's manager added that Ruiz told him "he felt something when he dove back into first, but he wasn’t sure if it was a pop."

Another member of the A's that spoke after the game was sophomore Shea Langeliers. The catcher said that Ruiz "is fearless out there and he’s so fast," as quoted on ESPN.

"I played against him last year in Triple-A and he was a menace whenever he was on base," Langeliers continued. "It’s a big advantage to have him on the bases for your team, though."

Here's hoping Esty can break more records this season and go on to put together a Hall of Fame career, such as former A's HoFer Rickey Henderson!

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