I would also like to have Jesus playing 2B, but Rod Carew would be pretty nice too.

(ok that was a lame joke even by my standards)

You can tell it was a different game in the prewar era – Lou Gehrig had 15 career steals of home, just two fewer than Carew and 18th all-time, and Babe Ruth had 10, as many as Paul Molitor (who appears to be the only player from the last 30 years in double-digits, not counting Carew’s couple years in that decade).

I have seen one steal of home in person – Dan Gladden, on the back (or is it front?) end of a double steal with Jim Dwyer in ‘89 against the Mariners (I still have the program*). Dwyer virtually never stole bases**, so it apparently took the Mariners by such surprise that they were really slow with the throw to second (Dwyer would’ve been safe no matter what), and they were slow enough on the way back home that, as I remember it, Gladden made it fairly easily.

• I just checked out the program, and the double steal situation occurred following the Twins wasted a couple other baserunners – Kirby doubled and was thrown out trying to score on a Bush single, and Bush was promptly caught stealing. Gladden was batting fifth that game, with Newman and Hale batting 1-2… man, the ’89 Twins were bad. Also, my handwriting when I was nine was awful.

• I looked it up on Baseball-Reference to see when Dwyer’s last stolen base attempt was before that, and I was surprised to find that he had another steal earlier in ‘89. I checked the game log, and it wasn’t just a steal – it was a steal of home. He was the front (or back?) end of a double steal with Gary Gaetti in a game against the White Sox – the throw to second went for an error and sent Gaetti to third, and Dwyer got credit for a steal of home.