Minneapolis – Josh Bell has accomplished a lot in his MLB career. Still, on Wednesday night, he solidified himself in the record books in an unexpected way.
For the first time since Sept. 27, 2018, he stole a base, ending a 978-game streak without a steal. Elias Sports Bureau confirmed that it was the longest stretch of games a player has gone without a stolen base in MLB history.
“I didn’t have it in my playbook,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said on Bell’s stolen base after Wednesday’s game. “But there are certain times when the situation calls for it. Josh is a big guy, but he’s actually a pretty good athlete.”
You see, Bell has never had a reputation as a stolen base threat. He only had four in his career before the Twins signed him this offseason. Still, he has occasionally tried to steal a base. Between 2019 and 2025, Bell was 0-for-7 in stolen base attempts.
He was caught stealing three times in 2025 alone, so he knew he was close to getting it checked off. All it would take is getting the right base-running coach to set him up for an attempt. Enter Twins first base and base running coach, Grady Sizemore.
In spring training, the Twins decided to continue the previous coaching regime’s mentality of running at every opportunity after the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline. For some players – such as Austin Martin, Luke Keaschall, and Byron Buxton – this team’s base-running mentality aligns with how they already play the game.
But for players like Josh Bell, Kody Clemens, and Trevor Larnach, base stealing hasn’t really been a big part of their game. That’s why Sizemore took his group of infrequent base stealers aside to let them know they’d also be trying to swipe bags.
“They were all really receptive to it,” Sizemore said. “So they’ve been doing a great job of taking good leads, not taking it for granted, not just going base to base and looking for opportunities.”
“I had some attempts, but they were unsuccessful,” Bell said after Wednesday’s game. “But yeah, just talking with Grady in camp, he was like, ‘ We’re going to get some bags this year.’ So shook some dirt off against [Aroldis] Chapman in spring and happy to get the first one out of the way.”
Let’s set the scene of how Bell did it. The Twins had runners on the corners and two out with a 1-1 count on Luke Keaschall. Meyer threw a slider down outside the zone, and Marlins catcher Joe Mack was caught off guard when Bell began gunning for second. He looked back at Austin Martin at third, then proceeded to throw the ball a few seconds too late as Bell slid headfirst into second.
“He did what he was supposed to do, go out there, and it’s a steal and stop, and based on the situation, we’ll see what happens,” Sizemore said. “I think they weren’t intending to throw but threw it late just to see if they would get him, and he was able to get in there.”
While Josh Bell holds the record for the most games between two stolen bases, he still fell short on the longest streak without a stolen base in a player’s career. Only three players had more career games without a stolen base than Bell, per Elias Sports Bureau.
- Cecil Fielder: 1,096 games from 7/20/1985 to 4/1/1996
- Tony Clark: 1,080 from 5/19/1999 to 7/12/2009
- Del Rice: 983 from 9/18/1948 to 8/31/1961
However, just because Bell’s streak is over, it doesn’t mean he won’t attempt a steal again for the rest of the season. He had three attempts last year with the Washington Nationals, all of which the opposing team caught him. Now that he’s aware of how long Bell’s streak lasted between his two most recent stolen bases, Sizemore promises baseball fans won’t have to wait another 900-plus games to see him get another one again.
“I told him, ‘Look, it’s not it. It’s not over. Keep going, keep looking for opportunities to push it,’” Sizemore said. “Again, we’re all trying to look for opportunities, everyone, no matter who’s on base. So it was good to see him trust the process and go out there and get one. I can promise you it won’t be another streak like that for him.”
