These Five Players Are the Slowest to Steal a Base in the Statcast Era

Editor's note: The Statcast Era began in 2015, with detailed sprint speed metrics as part of the analysis provided. This list is ordered in terms of sprint speed, with #1 being the slowest player to steal a base since 2015.

Read about sprint speed qualifications here

During the 2025 season, I put together a list of the “Five Slowest Active Base Runners to Steal a Base”. We’re deep into the offseason now, which means it’s the perfect time for another addition to the slow base runner collection!

This time, the list will be expanded to include all players from the Statcast Era. Nothing beats reminiscing about which players clogged up the basepath for your favorite team. As I said in the first edition, it’s always fun to discuss unique baseball tidbits, especially the slowest of the slow.

Without further ado, here are the five slowest players to steal a base in the Statcast Era:

5. David Ortiz - June 19, 2016 (watch here)

Not remembered for his base running abilities, David Ortiz comes in at fifth on the list, boasting an average sprint speed of 23.4 ft/sec in his age 40 season. Throughout his 20-year career, Ortiz managed to swipe 17 bases, with his final steal coming on June 19, 2016.

With Edwin Diaz on the mound for the Mariners in the bottom half of the seventh, Ortiz took off for second on a 1-0 count to Hanley Ramírez. Diaz delivered a 94 MPH fastball high, with catcher Chris Iannetta unable to deliver a throw before Big Papi slid in safely. Fans can be seen cheering excitedly in the background, making the lighthearted moment even better.

4. Yadier Molina - April 28, 2022 (watch here)

Yadier Molina is often the star of caught stealing highlights, but he wasn’t exactly a stranger to stealing bases either. Over the course of his career, Molina managed to steal successfully 71 times, with his final steal coming in a 2022 season where he managed an average sprint speed of 23.3 ft/sec.

It was a rainy April day, with the Cardinals leading 5-0 over the Diamondbacks in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Molina was on first, with Harrison Bader at third, and right-hander Corbin Martin on the mound. As Martin came set with a 0-2 pitch to Paul DeJong, Molina took a double shuffle for a magnificent jump, beating out a rushed throw from Carson Kelly.

3.  Brian McCann - June 2, 2017 (watch here)

Our second catcher on the list, Brian McCann, finds himself as the third slowest player to steal a base in the Statcast Era, with a 23.0 ft/sec average sprint speed in 2017. McCann’s final steal came from his age 32 season, where he stole the 25th bag of his career.

In the top half of the second in a scoreless matchup between the Astros and Rangers, McCann stood on first with Alex Bregman at the plate. He took advantage of a slow delivery from Yu Darvish, who delivered an 83 MPH slider, and just narrowly beat an on-target throw from Robinson Chirinos. The Astros dugout shared a laugh, admiring the speed (or lack thereof) of their catcher.

2. Dioner Navarro - May 29, 2016 (watch here 3:26-3:38)

Unsurprisingly, another catcher takes a spot on the list, with Dioner Navarro sprinting at just 23.0 ft/sec on average in his final major league season. Over the course of his career, Navarro stole 14 bases and was caught stealing almost as often, boasting just a 53.8% success rate (12 CS).

His final career swipe came on a sunny May day in 2016, in a matchup between the White Sox and Royals. Navarro took his lead off first–in a first and third situation–in the top half of the second. He took off with a running start before Edinson Volquez delivered a high slider to Avisail Garcia, drawing no throw, and reaching second base standing. Navarro can be seen clapping above his head after, celebrating the rare achievement.

1. Albert Pujols - May 18, 2022 (watch here)

Finally, we’ve reached the slowest player to steal a base in the Statcast Era: Albert Pujols. Surprisingly, though, Pujols stole the most bases of any player on this list, totaling 117 in his career, and highlighted by 16 steal seasons in 2005 and 2009. Eventually, though, by his age 42 season, Pujols was sprinting at just 22.6 ft/sec on average.

Pujols’ final career stolen base came during a sunny day in May, in a matchup against the Mets. In the top half of the fourth, Yadier Molina was at the plate, with Pujols taking a lead off first. He took a running start before Max Scherzer delivered the 2-1 offering, a middle-middle slider, and drew no throw from Patrick Mazeika. Pujols had a phenomenal jump and can be seen already halfway to second base before the ball leaves Scherzer’s hand in the broadcast replay.

(Statistics found in: baseballsavant.com, mlb.com, baseball-reference.com, retrosheet.org)

(Video found in mlb.com)

Cover photo: Djh57 via Wikimedia