2011 Mountaineers Break NECBL Steals Record

Don Leypoldt

Green means go.

In the Green Mountain State, the Vermont Mountaineers- standard bearers of the color green- took that literally.

When the books were closed on the NECBL’s 18th regular season, Mountaineers runners stole 118 bases. This broke the NECBL’s record set in 1997 by Central Massachusetts. That team swiped 110 bags.

The Mountaineers were led by Rutgers freshman OF Brian O’Grady, whose 25 swipes led both the team and the NECBL. That broke Beau McMillan’s team record of 22 steals, set in 2003.

Vermont OF John Mishu (Princeton) also stole 20 bases, the only other NECBL’er to break that plateau. O’Grady and Mishu, two lefty-hitting outfielders ,were remarkably efficient as they were thrown out just six times all summer.

Ironically, Mishu and O’Grady combined for just eight steals in their respective spring seasons.

Mountaineers this summer combined to convert 79% of their stolen base attempts. This is seven percentage points above the rest of the NECBL.

O’Grady attended Archbishop Wood High School outside of Philadelphia while 2B Brett Johnson, who ranked third on Vermont and tied for ninth in the NECBL with 13 steals, attends Texas Christian.

Despite the religious backgrounds of these teammates’ education, Mountaineers fans were glad they chose to ignore this commandment: Thou Shalt Not Steal.