It is one of the lost plays in baseball.  Stealing home plate is a risky and dangerous move.

Stealing home has been attempted by very few players at and accomplished by even less.  What we are talking about here is not the “stolen base” that one gets when he is the runner on third in a double steal.  It’s not the “stolen base” that a player gets when he advances during a pick-off attempt.  The straight steal of home by a runner on third is a thing of beauty.

It’s rare and usually requires the stars to align in a specific way.  A lefty on the mound is a good start.  A right handed hitter improves the chances.  A great amount of speed and precise timing for the runner are imperative.

Here is the video from MLB.com

The stars aligned on Tuesday night and Houston Astros’ rookie Jonathan Villar broke for the plate.  He surprised the announcers.  He surprised the pitcher.  He surprised the cameramen.  He even surprised his own hitter.  And he was safe.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at i70baseball.
You can read more of his thoughts on the Yahoo Contributor Network and discuss baseball with him on Twitter.

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 25, 2013) – The Kansas City Royals today have claimed catcher George Kottaras on Outright Waivers from the Oakland Athletics.  To create room on the 40-man roster, the club designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment.

The 29-year-old Kottaras (kuh-tar-us) has played for the Red Sox (2008-09), Brewers (2010-12) and Athletics (2012), batting .220 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 249 Major League contests.  The left-handed hitter posted a .351 on-base percentage while drawing a career-high 37 walks in 85 games for Milwaukee and Oakland in 2012 while helping the A’s win the American League West after being acquired on July 29.  He blasted six home runs for Oakland in just 27 games and then appeared in four games during the A’s Divisional Series vs. Detroit.  Born in Scarbourough, Ontario, Canada, Kottaras now resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Abreu, 28, hit .257 in 22 games for the Royals in 2012 after spending a majority of the campaign at Triple-A Omaha.

ROYALS ACQUIRE CATCHER QUINTERO, OUTFIELDER BOURGEOIS FROM HOUSTON FOR PITCHER CHAPMAN AND A PLAYER TO BE NAMED

SURPRISE, AZ  (March 20, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals today announced that the club has acquired catcher Humberto Quintero and outfielder Jason Bourgeois from the Houston Astros in exchange for minor league pitcher Kevin Chapman and a minor league player to be named.  To make room on the Royals 40-man roster, the club placed catchers Salvador Perez (surgery on left knee for torn meniscus) and Manuel Pina (surgery on right knee for torn meniscus) on the 60-Day Disabled List.

The 32-year-old Quintero (full name is pronounced “hum-BEAR-toe” “kin-TEAR-o”) is a nine-year Major League veteran of the San Diego Padres (2003-04) and Houston Astros (2005-11).  The right-handed hitter batted .240 (63-for-262) with 12 doubles, a triple, two home runs, 25 RBI and 22 runs scored in 79 games with the Astros in 2011.  In 379 career games, Quintero is a .234 hitter with 15 home runs and 94 RBI.  Defensively, he has a career fielding percentage of .992 and has thrown out 53 of 192 attempted basestealers for a 27.6 percent clip.  The five-foot-nine, 216-pounder is originally from Maracaibo, Venezuela, but currently resides in Pearland, Texas.

Bourgeois (pronounced “Boosh-wah”), 30, played in a career-best 93 games for Houston last season, batting .294 (70-for-238) with eight doubles, two triples, one home run, 16 RBI and 30 runs scored.  The speedy and versatile outfielder also recorded 31 stolen bases in 37 attempts while playing all three outfield positions.  In his four-year big league career with the White Sox (2008), Brewers (2009) and Astros (2010-11), Bourgeois compiled a .262 average in 192 games with 46 steals in 56 attempts.  The right-handed hitter is a career .369 (61-for-186) batter against left-handed pitching.  Born and raised in Houston, Texas, he was originally a second-round selection of the Texas Rangers in 2000.

Chapman, 24, split the 2011 season between Wilmington (High A) and Northwest Arkansas (AA).  He was the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2010 Draft out of the University of Florida.

ROYALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH THIRD BASEMAN Kevin Kouzmanoff ON A MINOR LEAGUE CONTRACT FOR 2012
Contract includes invitation to Major League Spring Training

KANSAS CITY, MO (January 14, 2012 — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has agreed to terms with third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff on a minor league contract for the 2012 season.  The contract includes an invitation to Royals Major League Spring Training camp in Surprise, Ariz<

The 30-year-old Kouzmanoff (KOOZ-mah-nahf) combined to play 73 games for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies in 2011, batting .235 with seven home runs, 33 RBI and 24 runs scored.  The right-handed hitter is a career .255 batter with 85 home runs and 361 RBI over six Major League seasons with the Indians (2006), Padres (2007-09), A’s (2010-11) and Rockies (2011).

He is a career .279 hitter with a .453 slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers.  The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder is known as a strong defender, leading all N.L. third baseman with a .990 fielding percentage in 2009, and averaged nearly 19 home runs a season from 2007-2010.

ROYALS ACQUIRE MINOR LEAGUERS POUNDERS AND GORIS FROM PIRATES FOR NAVARRO

DALLAS, TX (December 7, 2011) – The Kansas City Royals announced tonight that the club has acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Brooks Pounders and infielder Diego Goris from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for infielderYamaico Navarro. Pounders has been assigned to the Wilmington (A Advanced) roster while Goris was assigned to Burlington (R). Following the trade, the Royals 40-man Major League roster stands at 39.

Pounders, 21, posted a 5-5 record with a 3.68 ERA in 36 games (one start) for Class A West Virginia in 2011. In 66.0 innings, the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder allowed 61 hits while striking out 72 against just 14 walks. The Pirates’ second round selection (53rd overall) in the 2009 Draft is a native of Temecula, Calif.

The 20-year-old Goris, who turns 21 tomorrow, hit .350 with 20 doubles, four triples, five home runs, 46 RBI and 53 runs scored for the Pirates’ Dominican Summer League club in 2011. The 6-foot-2, 165-pound right-handed hitter also stole 15 bases in 18 attempts. Goris, a native of Santiago in the Dominican Republic, is a career .302 hitter over four seasons in the Pittsburgh system, having been named an All-Star in the Dominican in both 2010 and 2011.

Navarro, 24, was acquired by the Royals from the Boston Red Sox on July 30 in exchange for infielder Mike Aviles. He hit .304 in six games for the Royals and is a career .206 batter at the Major League level in 42 contests.

Royals Re-sign Seven Players To Minor League Contracts For 2012

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 27, 2010) — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has re-signed seven players to minor league contracts for the 2012 season.

Left-handed pitcher Andrew Dobies, 28, was signed by the Royals on July 22, 2011 from the Somerset Patriots of the Independent Atlantic League. Dobies was 1-1 with a 5.89 ERA in 12 relief appearances for Northwest Arkansas (AA).

24-year-old left-handed pitcher Edgar Osuna spent the entire 2011 campaign with Northwest Arkansas, posting a 6-4 record and 7.89 ERA in 14 games, including 11 starts, missing over two months with a shoulder injury. The native of Mazatlan, Mexico, was the Royals’ Rule 5 selection in 2009.

Right-handed pitcher Mario Santiago, 26, split 2011 between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha (AAA), combining for an 8-4 record with a 3.70 ERA in 35 games (11 starts). Santiago is currently pitching for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter League, where he has a 2.70 ERA in two starts.

Catcher Cody Clark, 30, played in 51 regular season games for the Pacific Coast League champion Omaha Storm Chasers, batting .233 with 12 doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI.

28-year-old infielder Irving Falu hit .301 with 10 doubles, nine triples, two home runs, 47 RBI, 50 runs and 21 stolen bases in 111 games for Omaha in 2011. The versatile switch hitter played second, third, short and right field for the Storm Chasers.

Infielder John Whittleman, 24, was acquired by the Royals from the Texas Rangers on March 25, 2011 for a player to be named or cash. The right-handed hitter batted .234 with 20 home runs and 68 RBI for Wilmington (Class A Advanced) in 2011, ranking tied for third in the Carolina League in homers and seventh in RBI.

26-year-old outfielder Paulo Orlando spent time at both Omaha and Northwest Arkansas this season, combining to hit .268 with 15 doubles, 12 triples, five home runs, 51 RBI and 54 runs scored. The native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was acquired from the Chicago White Sox on August 9, 2008 in for Horacio Ramirez.