Jose Altuve has hundreds of games to play before he reaches his 30th birthday, and he is among the most prolific base stealers of his generation. But as he waited for his turn in batting practice at the Astros' camp last week, he mentioned that he probably will again never come close to reaching his career-high of 56 steals, accomplished in 2014.
Too much risk, he concluded. Altuve was referring to a specific concern he has, but he might as well have been speaking more broadly, for the entire industry.
The number of stolen bases is generally declining.