Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #164C: George W. Case Part 2. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1937-1945 and 1947. 1,415 hits and 349 stolen bases in 11 MLB seasons. 4-time All-Star. 6-time AL stolen base leader. Only player to ever lead MLB in stolen bases for five consecutive years (1939-1943). His best season was probably 1942 for Washington as he posted a .377 OBP with 101 runs scored and 44 stolen bases in 563 plate appearances.

Case stole 349 bases in his career with an outstanding 76.2 percent success rate. He ranked ninth in American League history in career steals at the time of his retirement. In 1986 writer Nicholas Dawidoff described Case’s base-stealing technique: “Like many great base stealers, Case didn’t take a big lead, but he was able to get a phenomenal jump on the pitcher. Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn says: ‘It seemed like he was always started at full speed.’ ”

In the same article, Case commented on why he never stole 100 bases, and also proffered a contrast between today’s base stealers and those of his day: “Baseball was played a lot differently then [when I played]. I never stole third with two out or stole second when we were three or four runs down. In the 1940s, there were right and wrong times to run. Now that isn’t true. It’s no secret why players get 100 stolen bases today.”

Case is the only player to lead the major leagues in stolen bases five consecutive seasons (1939-43). He did it again in 1946, thus topping the American League six times. This achievement tied him with Ty Cobb for the most seasons leading in steals, a mark later broken by Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. Case’s 321 steals for Washington rank third in franchise history, behind Clyde “Deerfoot” Milan (495), and Hall of Famer Sam Rice (346). He said of his remarkable success, “You just can’t run on a sign and be a good base stealer. All the time I played in Washington under Bucky Harris and Ossie Bluege, I never was given a sign.”

(This thread will now pause for two days with a plan to finish when we return.)