HOFer Max Carey: One of the Greatest Base Stealers of All Time!

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“Stealing bases is the art of picking up little things – things like a spitball pitcher who never threw to first if he was going to throw a spitter to the plate.” – Max Carey

In my recent post on Mickey Mantle being the greatest switch-hitter of all time, I included a list of other great switch hitters. Several readers mentioned that Max Carey, one of the greatest base stealers of all-time, should be on that list. That got me thinking about this often-overlooked Hall-of-Famer; and so I decided to take a look at his career.

Max Carey was an outstanding defensive center fielder who played 20 seasons in the major leagues (1910-1929), with the Pirates (1910-26), and the Dodgers (1926-29). After coaching a couple years for the Pirates, he managed the Dodgers from 1932-33.

Carey’s career batting average was .285 with 2665 hits, 70 home runs, 802 RBI, a career .361 on-base percentage, and 738 stolen bases.  His stolen base total was a National League record until 1974 and is still the ninth-highest total in major league history and third highest in National League history.  He led the league in steals 10 times and in triples twice. With a 96.2% stolen base success rate in 1922 he became the only pre-1951 player to record a percentage of 92% or higher.  In 1922 he stole 51 bases and was caught only twice. He also stole home 33 times in his career, second best only to Ty Cobb’s 50 on the all-time list.

In the 1925 World Series, Carey starred for the Pirates, helping them win their second World championship. In the deciding game, Carey had four hits, including three doubles, off of Walter Johnson^. His.458 batting average led all players, as the Pirates defeated the Washington Senators.

In 1944, Carey became the manager of theMilwaukee Chicks in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. That year, Milwaukee won the AAGPBL pennant Beginning in 1945, he spent several years as the league’s president. He then spent three seasons managing the league’s Fort Wayne Daisies.

Max Carey was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961. 

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits; All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the Max Carey Wikipedia page. Read more at:

Statistics from the Max Carey Baseball-Reference.com page

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