Stat of the Night

Jose Reyes, 23 years old, swiped his 17th bag (in 20 attempts) tonight. At this rate, Reyes is on pace to steal 114 bases on the year. Now...obviously, Reyes is not going to maintain this pace - and won't hit triple digits on the year...but it's worth noting, considering that it's getting no pub (outside of fantasy circles). On the year (thru tonight), Reyes has reached base a total of 53 times (16 of which have gone for extra bases -- in turn, he has registered 37 total singles + walks). Thus, nearly half the time Reyes reaches first base (either via a single and/or walk), he has turned his single/walk into two bases. Already recognized as one of the more exciting players in the game...in just his third full season, Jose Reyes is in the process as clearly cementing himself as one of baseball's best.

...which brings me to my next stat -- also at the age of 23 (in 1982), Rickey Henderson stole 130 (in 172 attempts) bases while with the Oakland A's. What makes Henderson's feat that much more amazing is that he ONLY had 143 hits during this same season (granted, he was a walk machine -- 116 walks on the year). Sh*t, Henderson stole 37 bases at the age of 40...only to follow it up with 36 steals as a 41-year-old (not even as an everyday player). Amazing.