Stealing home…

With all the talk about The Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field during the time around the Home Opener this season, I heard it mentioned a bunch of times that Jackie Robinson stole home 19 times in his career.  Seeing as how stealing home doesn’t happen a lot these days, I figured 19 was pretty close to a career high.  Baseball-Almanac.com shows that Ty Cobb has the all time record with 54.  Even swiping home 8 times in one season.
Watching Jacoby Ellsbury steal home last night made me think.  Why has stealing home become a lost art?  The crowd at Fenway was absolutely electrified after the play, and the opposing pitcher, Andy Pettite seemed completely out of sorts, for at least the next few batters.  There are enough players in the Majors with enough speed to pull this move off.  There are enough defenses that play the shift against left handed hitters, which leaves the third baseman playing more of a short stop position.  Having the third baseman so far away allows the runner on third to walk halfway down the line without worrying about getting picked off.  Is this not a risk worth taking with two out and a man on third?  I’m not saying it’s something you should try every time, but there are certain situations where it might be warranted.