In a wild moment from a 1985 game, Vince Coleman pulled off one of the strangest sequences on a stolen base attempt. With runners on first and second, Coleman tried to steal third but over-slid the bag and found himself in no man’s land. Instead of panicking, he juked the fielder and took off as the tag missed. Confusion followed as the third baseman, Ron Cey, looked to the ump for a call, but Coleman kept moving. The defense never covered home plate, and Coleman sprinted in to score.
While all of this was unfolding, the other runner, likely Willie McGee, had made it to third. Amid the continued argument over the missed tag, McGee casually tried for home, thinking the play was still live. But the ump had called time, and it didn’t count. The defense and scoring officials disputed whether Coleman went out of the baseline or deserved two steals on the play. The consensus was he earned both, one for third and one for home. McGee’s attempt was moot, but it sparked discussion about how many stolen bases could ever happen on a single pitch. Four happened here, with some debate about how to score them.
Vince Coleman’s speed was no joke. He stole 110 bases as a rookie and led the National League in steals for six straight years. Still, off the field, he had some regrettable moments, including a disturbing incident involving fireworks and kids.