Speed: it Changes a Baseball Game
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Davido asked:
–Few people are faster than Jose Reyes
Rickey Henderson stole 1,406 bases in his career, and thrice stole 100 in a single season. All those steals lead to a ton of runs. Henderson finished his 24 year career with 2,295 runs scored. Henderson changed the game when he ran. Similar to how Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Reyes are currently changing the game. Stealing has become more popular over the last thirty years as you see more and more players with over fifty swipes. (Most base running records are from the ’70’s to date.) After Henderson stole 100 bags in ‘82 and ‘83, Vince Coleman stole 100 in ‘85, ‘86 and ‘87. Since then, fans have long awaited for the next 100 steal speedster.
Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox and Jose Reyes of the New York Mets are the two who would most likely steal triple digits. Reyes, who is now in his fourth full season, stole 78 bags last year to lead the majors. The 25 year old shortstop already has 259 steals to date. The rookie Ellsbury is safe an amazing 92% of the time he attempts an extra base. He leads the majors this year with 34.
Speed can win ball games. The other night I was watching the Red Sox-Reds game. Youngster Homer Bailey was on the hill for Cincinatti. Bailey, who struggled in his first two starts of the season, got ahead of Ellsbury 0-2. Boston’s lead off hitter than slapped a single inbetween third and short. Knowing this would frusturate Bailey, Ellsbury swiped 2nd on the first pitch to Dustin Pedroia. You’d figure that’d be good. No outs, a runner on second and Pedroia up. That wasn’t enough for Ellsbury though who stole third! He did this off catcher David Ross, usually known for a strong arm. Pedroia eventually hit a short fly ball to right field where of course Ellsbury tagged and took home on. That kind of running can be the difference in a game.
— Robert’s steal in Game 4 might never be forgotten, especially in Boston.
Having speed is crucial. If the 2004 Boston Red Sox were without speedster Dave Roberts, they probaly would not have won it all. Roberts, who pinch ran for Kevin Millar, stole second in the 9th inning of a one run ball game. When Bill Mueller singled up the middle, Roberts came around to score. We all know what happened next, Boston completed the greatest comeback ever and went on to win the World Series. However, that probaly wouldn’t of happened had Roberts not stole second.
You need more than just speed. Henderson, Lou Brock and Ellsbury all had gifts where they were also good hitters. guys like Michael Bourn and Carlos Gomez should steal 40 plus bags for the next several years. Imagine if they got on base as much as someone like Ichiro does. What I’m trying to say here is that as good as being fast is, it’s much better to be able to hit also.
–Henderson would keep the bases of his milestone steals.
Jacoby is on pace to break Kenny Lofton’s AL rookie record of 66 steals. It’s unlikely he’ll pass the all time record of 130 this year. You never know though, he might break Henderson’s record eventually. I’m just saying that speed wins games. It is a part of the game. Going from first to third on a base hit can make a huge difference. In a period of time where players seem to jog down the first base line, stealing is becoming more popular than ever. Teams should definately be devoting more scouting to speed.
DENIS
–Few people are faster than Jose Reyes
Rickey Henderson stole 1,406 bases in his career, and thrice stole 100 in a single season. All those steals lead to a ton of runs. Henderson finished his 24 year career with 2,295 runs scored. Henderson changed the game when he ran. Similar to how Jacoby Ellsbury and Jose Reyes are currently changing the game. Stealing has become more popular over the last thirty years as you see more and more players with over fifty swipes. (Most base running records are from the ’70’s to date.) After Henderson stole 100 bags in ‘82 and ‘83, Vince Coleman stole 100 in ‘85, ‘86 and ‘87. Since then, fans have long awaited for the next 100 steal speedster.
Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox and Jose Reyes of the New York Mets are the two who would most likely steal triple digits. Reyes, who is now in his fourth full season, stole 78 bags last year to lead the majors. The 25 year old shortstop already has 259 steals to date. The rookie Ellsbury is safe an amazing 92% of the time he attempts an extra base. He leads the majors this year with 34.
___________________________________________________________________
Speed can win ball games. The other night I was watching the Red Sox-Reds game. Youngster Homer Bailey was on the hill for Cincinatti. Bailey, who struggled in his first two starts of the season, got ahead of Ellsbury 0-2. Boston’s lead off hitter than slapped a single inbetween third and short. Knowing this would frusturate Bailey, Ellsbury swiped 2nd on the first pitch to Dustin Pedroia. You’d figure that’d be good. No outs, a runner on second and Pedroia up. That wasn’t enough for Ellsbury though who stole third! He did this off catcher David Ross, usually known for a strong arm. Pedroia eventually hit a short fly ball to right field where of course Ellsbury tagged and took home on. That kind of running can be the difference in a game.
— Robert’s steal in Game 4 might never be forgotten, especially in Boston.
Having speed is crucial. If the 2004 Boston Red Sox were without speedster Dave Roberts, they probaly would not have won it all. Roberts, who pinch ran for Kevin Millar, stole second in the 9th inning of a one run ball game. When Bill Mueller singled up the middle, Roberts came around to score. We all know what happened next, Boston completed the greatest comeback ever and went on to win the World Series. However, that probaly wouldn’t of happened had Roberts not stole second.
You need more than just speed. Henderson, Lou Brock and Ellsbury all had gifts where they were also good hitters. guys like Michael Bourn and Carlos Gomez should steal 40 plus bags for the next several years. Imagine if they got on base as much as someone like Ichiro does. What I’m trying to say here is that as good as being fast is, it’s much better to be able to hit also.
–Henderson would keep the bases of his milestone steals.
Jacoby is on pace to break Kenny Lofton’s AL rookie record of 66 steals. It’s unlikely he’ll pass the all time record of 130 this year. You never know though, he might break Henderson’s record eventually. I’m just saying that speed wins games. It is a part of the game. Going from first to third on a base hit can make a huge difference. In a period of time where players seem to jog down the first base line, stealing is becoming more popular than ever. Teams should definately be devoting more scouting to speed.
DENIS
