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Villar puts stronghold on stolen base crown
- Updated: September 25, 2016
MILWAUKEE — This is not exactly the way Jonathan Villar wanted to lead the Major Leagues in stolen bases, stuck in a late-season slump and with his top two competitors stopped in their tracks by injuries.
The Brewers infielder swiped second base in the third inning of Saturday’s loss to the Reds for his 59th stolen base, tops in the Majors. It snapped a tie with the Reds’ Billy Hamilton, who is sidelined for the rest of the season by an oblique strain. The Pirates’ Starling Marte is third with 47 steals, but his comeback from a two-week absence for back spasms was cut short after two innings on Thursday in a game against the Brewers at Miller Park.
Since the Indians’ Rajai Davis is next on the leaderboard with 41, Villar has effectively clinched the 2016 stolen base title. He will be the first Brewers player to lead the Majors in that category since Scott Podsednik swiped 70 bags in 2004. Tommy Harper is the only other player in franchise history to lead the Majors in steals; swiping 73 in 1969 for the Seattle Pilots.
“I’d …
