Oakland A's History: Esteury Ruiz steals 42nd base, ties franchise rookie-record

Oakland Athletics' rookie Esteury Ruiz is so fast that he just couldn't contain himself.

One day after committing his 41st theft of the season, Ruiz went on to steal a 42nd bag in the second game of the Oakland A's series against the Chicago White, tying a franchise rookie record that had stayed put since it was first broken in 1977.

Ruiz's 42nd steal put him atop the A's rookie ranks in stolen bases as the Latin outfielder tied Mitchell Page's mark achieved all the way back in 1977.

Esty is now just one base away from entering the history books of the A's organization leading the (rookie) way all by himself, and he has nearly half a season to accomplish that feat.

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-35 season on that front after snatching his 42nd steal of the year. One more steal would put him in a 33-player-season club. Reaching 44 would tie him for 32nd, and reaching 50 SB would bring him into a select 28-player-season group of former A's players.

If Ruiz can keep up with his current pace, the rookie might actually etch his name in golden letters inside the history books of the Oakland Athletics. Ruiz has a shot at stealing some 80 bases. That, obviously, is a tall task to complete no matter how you look at it.

However, as long as Ruiz can keep stealing bases at a reasonable pace and reach, say, 60 steals on the season, he'd already join a group of five former A's with 60+ steals in a single season. If Ruiz reaches 65 he would put up a top-8 player-season on that front. And reaching 75+ would mean a top-5 season.

Just in case you missed it at the start of this article, Ruiz is playing baseball in the majors for the second year this season and still holding a rookie denomination. That is, simply put, unheard of and a sight to behold.

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