SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Prior to the 2023 season, Major League Baseball instituted several rules with the intention of re-energizing the run game: limited pickoffs, pitch clocks, bigger bases. The changes worked. Attempts spiked. Steals are, indeed, back.
The Giants have yet to join the stolen base revolution. This season, that could finally change.
“I think it starts from the top down. It starts from the front office and what they’ve been communicating the whole offseason: you have to play free and don’t be afraid to get thrown out,” said Tyler Fitzgerald. “Once you’re afraid to get thrown out, you just don’t want to steal. You’re out there scared. Everything I’ve heard from the front office and the coaching staff this year is, ‘Hey, we’re going to go. If you get thrown out a lot of times, then we’ll have a talk about it. In the meantime, let’s stay aggressive and put some pressure on people.’”
Over the last two seasons, no team has stolen fewer bases than the Giants. This lack of aggression isn’t a recent phenomenon.
This millennium, San Francisco ranks dead last in steals. The last Giant to swipe at least 30 bags in a single season was Dave Roberts, the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in 2007. Since then, only the Giants and the Detroit Tigers are the only teams that haven’t had a player steal at least 30 bases in a season. This streak isn’t quite as infamous as their run without a 30-homer hitter, but it’s not ideal nonetheless.
The Giants, who have stolen nine bases on 12 attempts this spring, have the personnel to add more stolen bases to their offensive repertoire. San Francisco’s projected starting lineup is one of its more athletic units in recent years, headlined by Fitzgerald, Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee. Of that group, no one can burn rubber like the Giants’ new second baseman.
Fitzgerald, who stole 17 bases on 21 attempts last season, is one of the fastest players in the league, ranking in the 100th percentile of sprint speed. The 27-year-old’s average sprint speed of 30.0 feet per second put him in a five-way tie for the third-best mark in the league with Elly De La Cruz, Jonatan Clase, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Victor Scott II. Only the Phillies’ Johan Rojas (30.1 ft/s) and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (30.5 ft/s) had faster sprint speeds.
Despite those wheels, Fitzgerald hasn’t ever been a super high volume basestealer as a professional. The Giants drafted Fitzgerald in 2019, but Fitzgerald didn’t attempt at least 30 steals in a single season until 2023. He’s been successful when he does take off (71-for-82), but pretty conservative relative to his speed. Fitzgerald’s light, though, is often green.
The Giants could also benefit if Adames and Chapman continue pushing the envelope. Last season, Adames and Chapman emphasized the steal game for the first time in their major-league careers. Their year-to-year totals both jump off the page:
Chapman2017: 0 SB, 1 CS2018: 1 SB, 2 CS2019: 1 SB, 1 CS2020: 0 SB, 0 CS2021: 3 SB, 2 CS2022: 2 SB, 2 CS2023: 4 SB, 2 CS2024: 15 SB, 2 CS
Adames2018: 6 SB, 5 CS2019: 4 SB, 2 CS2020: 2 SB, 1 CS2021: 5 SB, 4 CS2022: 8 SB, 3 CS2023: 5 SB, 3 CS2024: 21 SB, 4 CS
“It was really fun to do and implement that in my game,” Adames said. “I’m going to continue to try this year and see what happens.”
If Adames and Chapman tapped into their stolen base potential last year, then Lee stands out as a candidate to do so this year. Despite having above-average speed, Lee was never a high-volume basestealer in the KBO, his career-high being 13 steals in 2019. Lee only attempted five steals in 37 games last season, a conservatism that was due partially to Lee undergoing ankle surgery in 2023. With Lee’s legs in a good spot, the Giants would like to see him go.
“He wants to steal more bases,” said manager Bob Melvin. “He’s very aware that that’s something we need him to do a little bit more of. There were some injury stuff involved, too, with the ankle. As far as his legs go, he’s probably in as good as a spot as he’s been.”
Along with Lee, Heliot Ramos would like to steal at least 20 bases after swiping six bags on seven attempts last season, and Grant McCray should also impact San Francisco’s stolen base numbers — whether he makes the Opening Day roster as a fourth outfielder or not. McCray, who has three steals this spring, has always been aggressive on the bases, totaling 133 steals on 171 attempts in the minors and going 5-for-5 on attempts in the majors.
“We don’t have a guy who’s going to steal 60 or 70 bases, but if we could steal bases when we need it and when it’s there for us, I think that’s huge because that changes the game,” Chapman said.