Vince Coleman (baseball)

Vince Coleman
Coleman in 2016
Left fielder
Born: (1961-09-22) September 22, 1961
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 18, 1985, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
April 14, 1997, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average.264
Home runs28
Runs batted in346
Stolen bases752
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Vincent Maurice Coleman (born September 22, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player, best known for his years with the St. Louis Cardinals. Primarily a left fielder, Coleman played from 1985 to 1997 and set a number of stolen base records. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.

He was a baserunning consultant for the Chicago White Sox during the 2015 season.[1] He was hired by the San Francisco Giants in 2017 as a minor-league baserunning and outfield coach.[2]

Early life and amateur career

Coleman attended William M. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Florida, and then Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. In 1981, he set the all-time single-season stolen base record at Florida A&M, with seven steals in a single game and 65 steals in a season.[3] He led NCAA Division I that year in both total steals and stolen base percentage.

While at Florida A&M, Coleman was also a kicker and punter on the Florida A&M Rattlers football team,[3] where he followed in the footsteps of his cousin, Greg Coleman, who was also a punter at Florida A&M in the 1970s and went on to a 12-year career in the National Football League.[4] Vince Coleman was a member of the Rattlers team that won the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game. He was named to the all-conference team in both 1980 and 1981 and kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal in an unlikely 16–13 Rattlers win over the Division I-A Miami Hurricanes in 1979.[5]

Coleman signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins in 1982 but quit after a week of training camp because the team wanted to convert him into a wide receiver.[3]

Professional playing career

St. Louis Cardinals

Coleman chose to pursue a baseball career when he was drafted in the 10th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He stole 145 bases in 1983 with the Macon Redbirds of the South Atlantic League; Coleman did so despite missing a month of the season with a broken hand. He further demonstrated his speed and base-stealing ability with 101 steals for the Louisville Redbirds of the American Association in 1984, before being called up to the majors.[6]

Coleman stole 110 bases in his rookie season.[7] As of 2025, the 110 steals are the ninth-highest in major league history.[8] Coleman stole over 100 bases in the following two seasons as well, making him the only player in the 20th century to post three consecutive seasons of 100 or more steals and the first player in major league history to steal 100 bases in the first three seasons of their career. By the end of only his second year, his 217 stolen bases were second in Cardinal history behind Lou Brock's 888, just ahead of the 203 by Jack Smith.[9] With St. Louis, Coleman led the National League (NL) in stolen bases in every season he played with the Cardinals (1985–1990), becoming one of just four players ever to lead his league in six consecutive seasons. The other players to accomplish this feat are Rickey Henderson, Luis Aparicio, and Maury Wills. Coleman, Henderson, Wills, and Brock are the only players to steal 100 bases in a season. Since 1901, only Coleman and Henderson have three different 100-steal seasons to their credit, and only Coleman reached the total in three consecutive years.[8]

As the leadoff hitter for St. Louis, Coleman helped the team reach the 1985 playoffs. However, he suffered an injury prior to the fourth game of the NL Championship Series, when the automatic tarpaulin at Busch Stadium rolled over his leg during routine stretching exercises.[10] The injury sidelined him for the rest of the postseason, and the Cardinals eventually lost a seven-game World Series to Kansas City.[11] Following the season, Coleman became the fourth-ever unanimous selection for the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

In 1985, Coleman declared, "I don't know nothin' about him. Why are you asking me about Jackie Robinson?"[12] Responding to Coleman, Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson's widow said, "I hope somehow he'll learn and be embarrassed by his own ignorance."[13]

Coleman compiled the best season of his major league career in 1987, when he posted a .289 batting average and a .363 on-base percentage while totaling 180 hits, 109 stolen bases, and 121 runs scored. He stole second and third base in the same inning 13 times that year. Coleman played in the World Series that year, the only one he would appear in. He batted .143 while reaching base six times (four hits, two walks) and stealing six bases without being caught. In the field, he made two assists, both coming in Game 7; he was the first outfielder to throw two runners out at the plate in one World Series game.[14] The Cardinals lost the Series in seven games to the Minnesota Twins.

In 1989, Coleman compiled a streak of 50 successful stolen bases without being caught stealing, before it was broken on July 28 when he was thrown out by Montreal Expos catcher Nelson Santovenia in a game at Olympic Stadium.[15][16]

In June 1990, he recorded his 500th stolen base in just his 804th game, the fewest that any player has needed to reach that milestone.[17] As of the end of the 2025 season, he is the last player to steal 100 bases in one season.

New York Mets

Coleman left for the Mets after the 1990 season via free agency, signing a four-year, $11.95 million contract.[18] However, his career took a quick downward turn. He played in 235 games over out of a possible 486 games over there seasons due to injuries and suspensions.[19] Coleman was one of three Mets named in a sexual assault complaint filed by a 31-year-old woman in Florida, although prosecutors did not pursue charges in the case.[20] His base-stealing strategy became increasingly suspect; he often ignored or misinterpreted his coaches' signs on the basepaths. He was also very difficult to get along with. He got into an argument with coach Mike Cubbage in August 1991,[21] which was a factor in manager Bud Harrelson's ouster. In September 1992, he got into a fight with Harrelson's successor, Jeff Torborg, and was suspended for two games.[22]

The Mets seemingly had enough and tried to trade Coleman, but there were no takers. In April 1993, Coleman injured Dwight Gooden's arm by swinging a golf club in the clubhouse. Three months later, Coleman was charged with endangerment when he threw a lit firecracker into a crowd of baseball fans waiting for autographs in the Dodger Stadium parking lot. The explosion injured three children, including a two-year-old.[23] Coleman was sentenced to 200 hours of community service for the incident[24] while the Mets suspended him with pay. On August 26, the Mets announced that as part of a general house-cleaning of the clubhouse, Coleman would not return in 1994. Manager Dallas Green said that while Coleman had played well, he did not think he had the "head and heart and belly" he wanted to see on the team.[25]

Later career

At the end of the season, the Mets traded Coleman, with cash, to the Kansas City Royals for Kevin McReynolds. He recorded 76 steals in 179 games as a Royal before being traded to the Seattle Mariners in mid-1995. 1996 found Coleman with the Cincinnati Reds, who released him in June. He signed with the California Angels but never played a game for the team. Coleman's final season in the major leagues came in 1997 with the Detroit Tigers, where he again received limited playing time and little success.[19]

Coleman attempted a comeback with St. Louis in 1998 and hitting .313 in spring training but did not earn a spot on the opening day roster.[26] He was assigned to the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds, where he continued to play well, stealing eight bases and hitting .316 with an on-base percentage of .395 in 20 games.[27] However, after failing to receive a promotion to St. Louis, he left the team in May.[28]

Through the end of the 2025 MLB season, Coleman ranks sixth in all-time career stolen bases in the major leagues, with 752.[29] He ranks 74th all-time in career stolen base percentage among all players with at least 80 attempts, at 80.9%.[30]

Coaching career

Coleman was a coach for the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits in 2014.[31] The Chicago White Sox added Coleman to their staff as a base-running instructor for the 2015 season.[32][33] The San Francisco Giants hired him as a roving minor league baserunning and outfield coach in 2017.[2] He also coached at the HBCU Swingman Classic during the All-Star Game weekend.[34]

Personal life

Coleman is Catholic.[35] His son played college baseball for the Southern Jaguars in 2011 and 2012.[36][37]

Accomplishments

  • Sixth all-time for MLB career stolen bases (752)[29]
  • National League (NL) Rookie of the Year (1985)[19]
  • Most stolen bases by an MLB rookie, with 110 in 1985
  • Holds three of the top six stolen base seasons: #3 (110 in 1985), #4 (109 in 1987) and #6 (107 in 1986.)
  • The only MLB player to steal at more than 100 bases in three consecutive seasons: 110 in 1985, 107 in 1986, and 109 in 1987.
  • The last MLB player to steal 100 bases in a season in 1987.[8]
  • Two-time All-Star (1988–89)[19]
  • Led the majors in stolen bases four times (1985–87, 1990)
  • Led the NL in stolen bases six consecutive years (1985–90)[8]
  • Holds an MLB record with 50 consecutive stolen bases without being caught stealing (September 18, 1988 – July 26, 1989)[38][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hayes, Dan (January 24, 2015). "White Sox excited to bring Vince Coleman on board". Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Haft, Chris (February 18, 2017). "Coleman's mission: Improve baserunning, Giants want to be more aggressive, smarter on bases". MLB.com. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Cooper, Barry (June 5, 1985). "Punting Was a Kick But Stealing Is More Appealing". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Henry, Jim (June 21, 2021). "Former FAMU punter Coleman inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "The Day Florida A&M Slayed a Football Giant". Greensboro News and Record. Knight-Ridder News Service. September 18, 1992. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Muder, Craig. "#CardCorner: 1986 Topps Vince Coleman". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  7. ^ Nemec, David; Flatow, Scott (2008). This Day in Baseball: A Day-by-Day Record of the Events That Shaped the Game. Taylor Trade Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 9781589794078. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Stolen Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Jim Tommey and Kip Ingle, ed. (1987). St. Louis Cardinals 1987 Media Guide. St. Louis National Baseball Club. p. 144.
  10. ^ "The day the tarp ate Vince Coleman | St. Louis Cardinals | stltoday.com". www.stltoday.com. October 12, 2015.
  11. ^ Coleman Bites the Tarp October 13, 1985. Baseball Library
  12. ^ Jennings, Jay (June 3, 2007). "Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season - Jonathan Eig - Books - Review". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  13. ^ "Today in Sports History: July 24th". July 24, 2010.
  14. ^ "Vince Coleman World Series Stats by Baseball Almanac".
  15. ^ a b "Coleman steal streak ends". Deseret News. July 29, 1989. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  16. ^ "Cards blank Expos; steal streak ends". Chicago Tribune. July 29, 1989. p. 5.
  17. ^ Banks, Kerry (June 15, 2019). Baseball's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Records. Greystone Books Ltd. ISBN 9781553655077. Retrieved June 15, 2019 – via Google Books.
  18. ^ "Mets sign Coleman to $11 million deal". UPI. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c d "Vince Coleman Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  20. ^ Engber, Daniel (January 13, 2020). ""You Guys Are Scaring Me"". Slate. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  21. ^ Verducci, Tom (August 1, 1991). "COMMENTARY : Harrelson Not Exerting Necessary Control". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  22. ^ Sexton, Joe (September 2, 1992). "BASEBALL; Coleman Shoves Torborg and Mets Shove Back". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  23. ^ Jaramillo, Brian (August 4, 1993). "Mets' Coleman Faces Felony Over Explosion Near Fans : Crime: Device that injured three at Dodger Stadium equaled a quarter of a stick of dynamite, investigators say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  24. ^ "Coleman pleads guilty to throwing firecracker". UPI. November 5, 1993. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  25. ^ Sexton, Joe (August 27, 1993). "Coleman's Tarnished Met Career Is Finished". The New York Times.
  26. ^ Petrillo, Zac. "Vince Coleman". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  27. ^ "Vince Coleman Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  28. ^ "Coleman walks out on Memphis". San Francisco Examiner. May 6, 1998 – via SFGate.
  29. ^ a b "Career Leaders & Records for Stolen Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  30. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for SB %". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  31. ^ "Vince Coleman - MLB, Minor League Baseball Statistics". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  32. ^ "White Sox add Vince Coleman as base-running instructor". Chicagotribune.com. January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  33. ^ Mitchell, Fred (May 10, 2015). "White Sox coach Vince Coleman believes base-stealing a lost art". Chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  34. ^ "Rosters announced for second annual "HBCU Swingman Classic presented by T-Mobile & Powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation"". MLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  35. ^ Blessed 2 Play 071518 Vince Coleman, retrieved July 15, 2022
  36. ^ "Vince Coleman - 2012 - Baseball". Southern University. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  37. ^ "Vince Coleman - College Baseball Statistics". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  38. ^ "Trea made history with 41 consecutive stolen bases". MLB.com. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
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