Game Changers: Luis Aparicio

Ahh, those 11s, 10s, and 14*s. Stolen bases in APBA baseball. Every card has a personality, whether it be power, contact, or speed. However, those base stealers always stick out when we scrutinize APBA cards. Though, depending on what baseball era you’re playing with, the base stealers may be abundant or scarce.

Stolen bases have been an interesting trend throughout baseball history. During the Deadball Era, stealing was fashionable. The early twentieth century saw base stealing as a key offensive weapon. However, a clear decline of stolen bases began in the 1920s and continued through 1945. The 1922 season was the first time teams hit more home runs than bases stolen. By 1938 Stan Hack’s 16 stolen bases led the National League. Base stealing was not in vogue anymore.

The 1950 season was the low point for base stealing in the major league history. Dom DiMaggio led the American League with 15 steals. From 1955 through 1958, approximately three home runs were hit for every base stolen. However, this all began to change in 1956 with the arrival of Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio.

The 1956 AL Rookie of the Year led the league in steals with 21 that season. From 1956 to 1964 Aparicio would lead the AL in stolen bases—his first nine seasons. No other player has ever led his league in steals more than six years in a row. As a game changer, Aparicio best linked the breach between the principally power-hitting game of the 1950s to the one of the 1960s, where base stealers took their place along with home run hitters. As a matter of fact, Aparicio’s Hall of Fame plaque gives him credit for starting the stolen base renaissance.

Aparicio’s breakout stolen base season was 1959, when he stole 56 bases. The next closest was Mickey Mantle with 21 swipes. This would be the first of three straight seasons of 50+ steals for Aparicio and the apex of his career. A perceptible change in strategy for utilizing the stolen base resulted from Aparicio’s exploits. More players began building their game around speed and base stealing—like Maury Wills. By 1962 LA’s Wills would set a major league record with 104 stolen bases.

An examination of Aparicio’s APBA cards from the early 1960s compared to his contemporaries shows how prolific a base stealer he was. Almost every year during this time he would have a 15-11, 25-11, and a 31-10 or 51-10. Perhaps his most impressive steal card is from 1964 when he produced an 11, 11, 10, 14* and 14*. Add his excellent fielding to the mix, and he became a 13-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner.

Throughout baseball there have been many memorable base stealers like Ty Cobb, Lou Brock, Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, and Vince Coleman. However, the stolen base resurgence of the late twentieth century started with the slick-fielding and swift-footed Luis Aparicio. A true baseball game changer.