Men of Steal

And those who try to catch them.

By TOM JONES
Published April 28, 2005

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

Nobody out. Runner on first.

[Times photo: James Borchuck]

No one stole more bases (59) in the American League last season than the Devil Rays' Carl Crawford, whose secret is simple.

"Be patient and wait for the right time to go," Crawford said.

First pitch? No good. The pitcher expects it. He will throw a fastball. Crawford's perfect scenario: He has the pitcher's pickoff moves down cold and has a good idea what pitch is coming. Off-speed pitches are best. You get those when the pitcher is ahead in the count, say no balls and a strike or 1-and-2, 0-and-2. Fastball counts, like 2-and-0, are stop signs. A 2-and-1 pitch is good for a hit-and-run.

But if Crawford knows the pitcher's move to first and when he will make a pitch home, he doesn't care what the count is or who is behind the plate. He's gone.

"You're stealing on the pitcher," Crawford said. "You can find something on every pitcher (to exploit). It's up to you to find what it is, what little key there is to let you know you can go."

Crawford's routine is always the same: his lead, his hands, his crouch, his eyes. Always the same. After all, the other team scouts, too.

Most good basestealers, like Crawford, have a green light to go most of the time. But you don't run when trailing by a lot of runs. Sometimes Crawford won't run on an unfamiliar pitcher, just because he wants to see and gauge the pitcher's moves. It might come in handy later in the game. Or next month. Or next year.

Crawford likely won't go if Aubrey Huff, a good fastball hitter, is at bat. Just the fear of Crawford running means the pitcher could give Huff more fastballs. Besides, if Crawford steals second, the pitcher likely will work around Huff. And if Crawford is thrown out, Huff has no one to drive in.

"Sometimes, though, I just need a bag and I have to put it in my mind that I got to get this bag no matter what they do," Crawford said. "If I know the pitcher and get the jump I usually do, they can't stop me."

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]

THE BATTER

Batting behind a basestealer can be both good and bad. Good because you'll see a healthy dose of fastballs and pitches up in the zone (to give the catcher a good pitch to handle and throw). Bad because you might have to take a good pitch or two to give the runner a chance to steal.

"I usually give (Crawford) a couple of pitches to see if he wants to run," said the Rays' Julio Lugo, who usually bats second in the order. "If I see he's going, I usually lay off (the pitch) because 90 percent of the time, he's going to make it."

But that often means Lugo is an 0-and-2 hole.

"That's fine," Lugo said. "I'd rather bat with him on second and two strikes than him on first with no strikes."

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]

THE PITCHER

No one foils a stolen base better than the pitcher. You might not believe how simple the best tactic is.

"Just hold the ball," Rays pitcher Dewon Brazelton said. "Runners get out there and they're kind of tense. They're ready to go. The longer you make them stand there, hopefully, you make them get off their toes and more on their heels and you can slow them down a little bit."

The key is variety. Use a slow move to first. Then a quick one. Step off the rubber. Never show the same move twice. Come to a set and hold the ball five, six seconds. The next time, hold it for just a fraction of a second.

Good pitchers have the same philosophy: Never let the baserunner determine what pitch you throw. Just because a guy like Crawford is on first doesn't mean you throw only fastballs.

"If you're going to steal second then I'd rather you do that than give in to the hitter and have him hurt me," Brazelton said. "I'm still going to concentrate most on the hitter. I'd rather have a guy on second and no outs than give up a two-run homer."

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

THE CATCHER

Catchers get the credit when a baserunner is thrown out at second. And most of the blame when a runner makes it. Neither is fair.

Two years ago, Rays catcher Toby Hall cut down a league-best 41.3 percent of runners trying to steal. Last year, he was fourth in the American League at 27.9 percent.

"It's the best feeling you can have as a catcher," Hall said. "It's like a power hitter hitting a home run."

Still, a catcher can only do so much. He cheats a little in his stance, going from a relaxed squat to a ready crouch. He must make a good throw, hard and accurate. But if the runner gets a good jump, a bazooka won't help the catcher.

"The pitcher does most of the work keeping a runner close," Hall said.

The catcher helps. If Hall notices a big lead out of the corner of his eye, he'll flash a sign for the pitcher to throw over to first.

The manager or pitching coach tries to lend a hand, calling for pitchouts or throws to first. Maybe they have a scouting report that suggests the runner is going. Maybe they stole a sign from the third-base coach. Maybe they noticed the runner did something unusual to tip off his intentions.

Whatever happens, Hall calls for the best pitch to get the hitter out. The hitter is the first priority. If the runner goes ...

"You hope for the best," Hall said.

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd]

THE FIRST-BASE COACH

The first-base coach serves as basestealing coach. Rays coach Billy Hatcher has more secrets than the CIA.

"I know when a pitcher is coming over to first, when he's going home, when he's pitching out," Hatcher said. "But, I can't give you all my secrets."

But he gives a few.

He watches the opposing pitcher warm up. In the bullpen, the pitcher isn't worried about holding on runners, so he does what's normal, what's comfortable. When he gets in the game, his routine changes to deceive the runners. But when he gets into a tough spot, he goes back to what's familiar.

"Then I got him," Hatcher said. "Pitchers are creatures of habit. Once you figure out what they do in all situations, you got him."

Hatcher has other tricks. If a catcher is lazy shielding his signs, he knows what pitch is coming and can pass that info along to a runner by using a player's name. Using his first name in a sentence might mean, "Don't go, it's a fastball." By using his nickname, it might mean, "Go, he's throwing a changeup."

Hatcher can help defend a stolen base. He knows what things deter basestealers, so he passes those hints along to pitching coach Chuck Hernandez. How do you think Brazelton knows runners hate it when pitchers hold the ball?

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]

THE SHORTSTOP

The shortstop is the boss of the infield. He determines who covers second on a stolen-base attempt. This isn't Little League where the shortstop always covers. This isn't high school where the shortstop covers if there's a left-handed hitter and the second baseman covers if a righty is batting.

In the pros, who covers depends not only on the batter, but the pitch.

Here's an example. Right-handed slugger Sammy Sosa is up. The pitch is going to be an inside curve. Sosa, if he hits it, likely will pull the ball and hit it in the shortstop's direction. So if the runner goes, the second baseman should cover. But if the next pitch is going to be an outside fastball, a pitch Sosa likely will hit to the right side, the shortstop needs to cover if the runner goes.

Before each pitch, the shortstop considers the hitter's tendencies, checks the catcher's signs for the type of pitch, quickly determines where the ball is most likely to be hit, then holds his glove up to his face so only the second baseman can see his mouth.

If the shortstop's mouth is closed, it means "mmm" as in ""me, the shortstop, will cover." If his mouth is open, it means "ooo" as in ""you, the second baseman, will cover."

"The key is knowing the hitter and what he likes to do," Lugo said. "I know most of the hitters. Those I don't, I check the scouting reports."

Think about that. While the Rays are playing today in Toronto, some scout in some minor-league outpost such as Harrisburg or Montgomery will decipher something that might help Crawford steal a base two years from now or determine whether Lugo is covering second base in May of 2006.

[Times photo: Michael Rondou]

HE'S GOING

Many things go into a steal. Scouting reports. Signs. The stealing of signs. Routines. Tendencies. The pitcher's moves. The catcher's arm. The runner's lead. The score. The inning. The number of outs. Who is batting. Who is pitching. Who is running.

In a matter of seconds, the snap calculations and decisions by a half-dozen players and coaches will affect what happens. One misstep, a fraction-of-a-second pause, a quick glance could mean anything from a two-run homer to a stolen base to an easy throw to first to a timeout.

It takes only a few seconds, but they are critical seconds. Because once the runner takes his first step toward second as the pitcher starts to go home, what happens next already has been determined.

[Last modified April 28, 2005, 02:24:46]