Next up in our look at the “history” of the Valley League is career stolen bases in the minor leagues. As usual, we’ll start with 2006-2017, and then “all-time…”
| 2006-2017 | |||
| 1 | Rico Noel | Covington ’08 | 300 |
| 2 | Tyler Bortnick | Front Royal ’06 | 178 |
| 3 | Mike Mitchell | Staunton ’06 | 168 |
| 4 | John Raynor | New Market ’04 | 145 |
| 5 | Tony Thomas | Harrisonburg ’05 | 142 |
| 6 | Patrick Norris | Harrisonburg ’07 | 138 |
| 7 | Blake Tekotte | Woodstock ’06 | 127 |
| 8 | Tyson Auer | Luray ’05-06 | 124 |
| Ruben Sosa | Harrisonburg ’10 | 124 | |
| 10 | Jay Gonzalez | Harrisonburg ’11 | 122 |
| 11 | Matt Camp | Covington ’03 | 121 |
| 12 | Cory Spangenberg | Winchester ’10 | 111 |
Rico Noel spent the first part of 2017 with Lancaster of the Independent Atlantic League (where he stole 34 bases, by the way), but then was signed in August by the Houston Astros. He stole 4 bases in Double and Triple-A, giving him a nice round number up there at the top.
So Noel is still active, as is Ruben Sosa (17 SB in 2017) and Jay Gonzalez (31 SB in 2017). Cory Spangenberg is also active, although he spent only 17 games in Triple-A El Paso in 2017, where he stole 3 bases.
| All-Time | |||
| 1 | Antoan Richardson | Winchester ’03 | 331 |
| 2 | Rico Noel | Covington ’08 | 300 |
| 3 | John Massarelli | Front Royal | 288 |
| 4 | Doug Dascenzo | Front Royal | 250 |
| 5 | Gary Jones | Waynesboro ’82 | 225 |
| 6 | Tommy Murphy | Staunton ’98 | 215 |
| 7 | Louie Meadows | Staunton | 192 |
| 8 | Tyler Bortnick | Front Royal ’06 | 178 |
| 9 | Jim Pankovits | Harrisonburg ’74 | 172 |
| 10 | Mike Mitchell | Staunton ’06 | 168 |
| 11 | Allen Battle | Front Royal | 158 |
| Emil Brown | Waynesboro ’94 | 158 | |
| 13 | Brett Gardner | New Market ’03-04 | 157 |
| 14 | Kennard Bibbs | Harrisonburg ’01 | 155 |
| 15 | Juan Pierre | Harrisonburg ’97 | 151 |
| 16 | Jim Pankovits | Harrisonburg ’74 | 149 |
| 17 | John Raynor | New Market ’04 | 145 |
| 18 | Tony Thomas | Harrisonburg ’05 | 142 |
| 19 | Kevin Reese | Winchester ’98 | 138 |
| Patrick Norris | Harrisonburg ’07 | 138 |
Noel, Tyler Bortnick, Mike Mitchell, John Raynor, Tony Thomas, and Patrick Norris are on both lists. Will Noel get enough time in the minors to catch Antoan Richardson? Rico is really only one full season behind… will he get that season in 2018?
