Dee Gordon 3rd fastest Dodger to 40 steals

KANSAS CITY -- Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon stole second base against James Shields and the Royals in the fifth inning on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, giving him a career-high 40 stolen bases on the season.

In the seventh inning Gordon was thrown out trying to steal third base, his seventh caught stealing of the season.

Gordon reached 40 steals in the Dodgers' 80th game of the year, making him the third-fastest in franchise history to the milestone, trailing a pair of Maury Wills seasons.*

Wills in 1965 raced to 40 (and then 41) stolen bases in 62 team games, and ended up with 94 steals during the season. Three years earlier, when Wills set a then MLB-record with 104 steals, still the Dodgers' franchise record, Wills reached 40 steals in the Dodgers' 77th game.

The last major league player to steal 40 bases within the first 80 team games was Carl Crawford, who did so in 78 games with the Rays in 2009.

Gordon leads the major league in stolen bases, and is on pace for 81 steals.

Here's how Gordon stacks up with Wills' best two steal seasons through 80 team games:

*Modern era (1900-present). Hub Collins stole 85 bases in 1890 and Monte Ward stole 88 in 1892, but no game logs are available to know the daily breakdown.