In an environment where pitching is strong and batting is weak, whether or not stolen base is successful becomes more important.

The fierce battle between runner and batteries over stolen base is one of the most exciting parts of watching baseball. However, stolen base bases is becoming a riskier strategy than ever in today's NPB, where pitching is more important than hitting, even considering that failure means losing valuable runner.

This time, we will introduce the number of stolen base and the success rate stolen base recorded by the six Pacific League teams, as well as the success rate stolen base recorded by the players who recorded the top five stolen base bases on each team. We will take a deeper look at the strategy of "stolen base" in Pacific League this season based on actual data.

Both Tohoku Rakuten Eagles and Fukuoka Softbank had very good numbers.

The various stolen base numbers recorded by each Pacific League team this season are as follows.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles was the only team in the league to record triple-digit stolen base bases, and also had the highest stolen base success rate in the league at .840. Fukuoka Softbank, who recorded 98 stolen base was second in the league, and also had an excellent stolen base success rate of .803, indicating that both teams were at a high level in terms of stolen base accuracy.

On the other hand, Saitama Seibu Lions, who recorded 91 stolen base third in the league, had a slightly low stolen base success rate of .684, indicating that they had issues with accuracy. Furthermore, Orix Buffaloes, who had the fewest stolen base bases in the league, also had the lowest stolen base success rate of .674. Looking at it from the other side, it could also be argued that refraining from tactics that were ineffective with their current strength led to the team's entry into Class A.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham ranked fourth in the league in stolen base bases, while Chiba Lotte Marines ranked fifth, so neither team was planning to stolen base that many bases, but both teams had stolen base success rate of .720, which was above a certain level, and it is interesting to note that they were achieving sufficient results in terms of accuracy.

From here, we will take a closer look at the players who made it into the top five in stolen base bases for each team, as well as the number of stolen base and stolen base rate each player recorded.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

　Ryota Isobata recorded 25 stolen base, tied for third in the league, and stolen base success rate was above a certain level at .714. Furthermore, Kota Yazawa who recorded 11 stolen base second on the team, had an extremely high stolen base rate of .846, showing that both players made use of their natural speed on both offense and defense.

Furthermore, Kotaro Kiyomiya, who recorded eight stolen base the third highest on the team, had an outstanding stolen base success rate of .889, while Tatsuki Mizuno stole five stolen base and recorded perfect numbers with no failures. Although Shun Mizutani 's stolen base success rate was a little low at .667, it can be said that the players who recorded the highest number of stolen base on the team generally had excellent success rates.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

​Hiroto Kobukata, the 2023 stolen base leader, recorded 28 stolen base this season, second in the league, with an excellent stolen base success rate of .778. Daisuke Nakashima, who has grown into one of the team's main fielder, followed him with high-level results, second on the team with 22 stolen base and stolen base success rate of .846, making a significant contribution to the team's increased number of stolen base bases.

It is worth noting that Ryosuke Tatsumi, Yuya Ogo, and Rui Muneyama all had a 100% success rate stolen base, meaning that there were three players on the ranking who did not fail to stolen base throughout the season. Considering that Tohoku Rakuten Eagles is the only team with three players who recorded 20 or more stolen base, it can be concluded that this was a season with impressive results in terms of stolen base.

Saitama Seibu Lions

　Manaya Nishikawa stole 25 stolen base tied for third in the league, and had an excellent stolen base success rate of .781, expanding the team's opportunities as the leadoff batter. Natsuo Takizawa also stole 21 stolen base, demonstrating a high level of accuracy with stolen base success rate of .750, contributing to the revival of mobile baseball.

On the other hand, Shinya Hasegawa who was third on the team with nine stolen base had a stolen base success rate of .692, and Sosuke Genda, who was fourth with eight stolen base, had a stolen base success rate of .615, both of which were somewhat low. Takamatsu Wataru responded well to being used mainly as a pinch runner and had stolen base success rate of .875, but improving the success rate of the entire team seems to be the next challenge.

Chiba Lotte Marines

　Eito Takabe stole 20 stolen base for the first time in three years since he was crowned the stolen base leader in 2022, and showed his comeback with an excellent stolen base success rate of .833. Kyota Fujiwara also recorded his first double-digit stolen base, posting a decent stolen base success rate of .714, and the two main outfielders showed off their outfield leg strength at various points.

　Atsuki Tomosugi had equal numbers of successful and unsuccessful stolen base, leaving him with significant issues with accuracy, and Hiromi Oka also failed to reach double digits in stolen base bases for the first time in five years. On the other hand, Ryusei Ogawa recorded nine stolen base third on the team, with a stolen base success rate of .750, which is above a certain level, and Toshiya Sato also succeeded in all three of stolen base attempts.

Orix Buffaloes

First-round draft pick rookie Yusuke Mugitani led the team with 12 stolen base, demonstrating his speed even on the professional stage, but stolen base success rate was a little low at .667, and he will need to improve his accuracy from next season onwards. Meanwhile, Keita Nakagawa, who recorded double-digit stolen base for the first time in three years, posted an extremely high stolen base success rate of .833, demonstrating his recovery in terms of stolen base as well.

　Ryoto Kita stole five stolen base, leaving impressive numbers, and Ryoma Nishikawa also showed high accuracy with stolen base success rate of .800. However, Taishi Hirooka and Kosei Osato both had stolen base stolen base rate of .563 and .667 respectively, indicating that there are players who need to improve their accuracy, and these results provide some insight into the reason for the team's low number of stolen base bases overall.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

He stole 35 stolen base and was named stolen base leader for the fourth time in three consecutive years. Ukyo Shuto The player also had an extremely high stolen base success rate of .897. Considering that he achieved this figure despite playing in less than 100 games due to injury, base running ability can be described as truly outstanding.

moreover, Isami Nomura The player stolen base 18 stolen base with a success rate of .818. Naoki Sato A player had 10 stolen base with stolen base success rate of .833, and three players had double-digit stolen base and stolen base success rate of .800 or higher. Taisei Makihara The player stole 12 stolen base with stolen base success rate of .750. Riku Ogata The player stole 8 stolen base for stolen base success rate of .727, and the remaining two players also had numbers above a certain level, which shows why the team's overall stolen base success rate was so good.

Will there be a team that can turn stolen base into points like the two teams that competed for the championship?

In addition to Fukuoka Softbank' overall number of stolen base stolen base and their success rate, the players who recorded the top five stolen base bases on the team, including Shuto, also recorded excellent results. Hokkaido Nippon-Ham players who recorded the top number of stolen base bases on the team also generally had a high stolen base rate, and it can be seen that both teams, who were competing for the championship until the end of the season, were using their speed to improve their scoring ability.

Tohoku Rakuten Eagles, which leads the league in both the number stolen base and the success rate of stolen base, will be watching closely to see if they can maintain this trend next season and improve the team's scoring ability. The evolution of the numbers surrounding "stolen base" a valuable means of advancing runner into scoring position, will continue to be an interesting factor.

Written by Ryota Mochizuki