Has steal lost its appeal?: with the popularity of the home run, stolen bases have diminished in majors.(Brief Article)

IN 1980, AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYERS stole 1,455 bases and National Leaguers swiped 1,839 among 26 different teams.

In 2000, with 30 major league clubs, American League players stole 1,297 bases and their N.L. counterparts pilfered 1,627. That's 29 fewer stolen bases per club.

Through September 24 of the 2001 campaign, A.L. players had 1,490 SBs and the N.L. had 1,338.

"The home run has taken over," Anaheim Angels center fielder Darin Erstad said. "It's turned baseball into a station-to-station game waiting for the home run."

The days of stealing a base--never mind a run--continue to vanish as the lust for the long ball grows.

Coming into the 1999 season, Barry Bonds of the Giants had 445 homers and 460 stolen bases and was on pace to become the majors' first player to have 500 career homers and stolen bases. Many could have guessed Bonds would reach 500 lifetime steals before 500 homers, but two seasons later--through late-September of 2001--Bonds was approaching 600 homers with a career total of 563 and was still chasing 500 steals with 484.

Smaller stadiums, bigger batters, quicker bats, slide steps or manager's decisions have reduced a once integral part of scoring to an afterthought. In the process, it's made the pure base stealer a relic celebrated only in record books, not on the field.