A year away from the 20th anniversary of their historic 2004 ALCS comeback, the Red Sox know how much a stolen base can change the game.
But stolen bases were becoming a relic, putting the ‘past’ in ‘America’s Pastime.’
They certainly don’t make ’em like Rickey Henderson, anymore. The Hall of Famer (and member of the 2002 Red Sox) stands atop Major League Baseball’s all-time list with 1,406 career steals (no one else has ever come close to quadruple digits), including had three seasons of 100 or more steals and 14 seasons of at least 50. The last 70-steal season was Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009. No runner has reached 50 in a single season since Dee Strange-Gordon, who stole 60 in 2017.
Eager to turn back the clock and speed things up, MLB decided to jumpstart the proverbial jalopy.
After a trial run in the minor leagues, larger bases made their MLB debut this season.
The change paid immediate dividends. Oakland A’s outfielder Esteury Ruiz currently leads the majors with 39 stolen bases, just two away from the 41 Miami Marlins infielder Jon Berti needed to finish atop the leaderboards at the end of last season.
In 2022, the stolen base rate was a meager 0.51 SB-per-game; in mid-May, Sports Illustrated‘s Emma Baccellieri reported a “seismic” jump to 0.71, on pace for a record year-over-year increase.
Even if the number falls below the current record (0.14 between 1975-76), as long as it’s up by at least 0.1 by season’s end, it will be just the third recorded year-over-year increase of such magnitude in league history.
Entering Tuesday’s game, Boston’s 50 stolen bases only ranked 20th in the majors, nearly half the Tampa Bay Rays’ leading total of 99, but internally, Red Sox runners are already faring better than how the club finished out the last season.
Jarren Duran, in particular.
Over the weekend, the 26-year-old centerfielder stole his 14th base of the season. The mark is tied for 10th in the American League, and his .291 batting average and .347 on-base percentage (entering Tuesday) are the second- and third-best marks, respectively, among players with 14 or more stolen bases. His 29.2 Sprint Speed not only leads the roster, but ranks as the 14th-fastest in the majors.
Duran’s 14th swiped bag also means that less than three months into the season, he already has more steals than anyone on last year’s roster; in 2022, Trevor Story led the club with 13, and no one else had more than eight.
Going back and forth from Triple-A last season, Duran stole seven bases in 58 major league games. In 59 games so far this year, he’s doubled that total. That, coupled with his other improvements, speaks volumes to Alex Cora.
The outfielder is “gaining confidence,” his manager says. “That’s something that, I bet it was hard (for him) last year, kind of struggling.
“The mere presence at first, and the opposition knowing that he’s been running, it puts pressure on them,” Cora noted, adding that just seeing Duran move off the bag and prepare to run changes the tone of an inning. “Right now, Jarren’s leads are elite, you know, probably one of the best in the league.”
The Red Sox manager acknowledges that it’s been a while since his team was a veritable threat on the base paths. Stealing bases is so much more than speed, he pointed out, praising one of his former centerfielders.
“You can have all this stuff, that tip, and tell, and this and that, and tendencies, but if you don’t have conviction, you’re not going to take off. Jackie (Bradley Jr.) was really good about that.
“He wasn’t the fastest one running the bases,” Cora acknowledged, “But whenever he had something, he trusted it… Mookie (Betts) is the same way, Benny (Andrew Benintendi), that group in ’18, that was really good about that.”
Cora also credits his new first base coach, Kyle Hudson, or “Huddy,” as he’s known in-house, for the team’s overall approach on the base paths.
“Huddy just got here, but he feels like now, not only (Duran), the whole group is taking advantage of his knowledge, and we’ve been a lot better as far as like, being efficient and stealing bases.”
Also turning up the heat is David Hamilton, who made his major league debut last week by entering the game as a pinch-runner and immediately stealing a base. In only four career Red Sox games, he’s collected two steals.
For a team struggling in so many areas, their manager knows that such tenacity has been crucial to keeping their heads above water.
“Little by little, you know, they’re taking advantage of certain situations.”
After exiting his last start with right knee soreness, James Paxton is still in line to make his next start on Friday in Toronto. Both he and his manager were unconcerned by the ailment, which Paxton described as an inflammation he’s experienced before.
Still, Cora made sure to add a caveat to the positive news. “We’ll see how he keeps reacting to the treatment,” he said.
Tanner Houck underwent surgery on Tuesday, Cora announced. The 26-year-old right-hander suffered a facial fracture earlier this month on a line drive by New York Yankees catcher, Kyle Higashioka. “Small plates” have been inserted, Cora said.
“Nothing yet” on Corey Kluber (right shoulder inflammation), his manager said, but left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez (left shoulder inflammation) will make at least one more rehab appearance before being activated, while John Schreiber (right teres major strain) and Richard Bleier (left shoulder inflammation) each threw bullpens on Tuesday. Schreiber is on the 60-day injured list, putting his earliest availability after the All-Star break.
Chris Sale continues to undergo treatment and is “moving around,” Cora said. Since moving from the 15-day to the 60-day earlier this month, Sale isn’t eligible to return until the beginning of August, at the earliest.
After pressing pause on his rehab assignment due to discomfort, Yu Chang (left wrist fracture) is swinging again. Cora says he could be rehabbing again by week’s end.
Trevor Story (elbow/UCL surgery) is “still swinging and running, and doing all this cool stuff,” Cora added. He’s currently with the team, and is throwing and taking grounders at shortstop.
“He had a good weekend. He sent me a video of him catching throws at first base,” the Red Sox skipper said, making sure to add, “No, he’s not playing first.”
There’s been no discussion of which level of the organization Story will begin his eventual rehab assignment, though.
The WooSox unveiled several additions and changes coming to Polar Park in the second half of their season, including $3 hot dogs for kids, hand-scooped ice cream, additional ceiling and misting fans to keep visitors cool, and home game play-by-play in Spanish.
This is the first time the Triple-A season is divided into two halves. The second half begins Wednesday, June 28, but the WooSox don’t return home until July 4.