Republished from聽聽with permission.
NATIONALS PARK 鈥� The race is not going to happen. There鈥檚 too much pride, danger and pesky contractual issues. Trea Turner and Michael A. Taylor will not be digging in down in West Palm Beach, Florida at Spring Training. They will not line up down the right field line with a couple racing presidents holding tape in center field for the winner to break. So, all that remains is theory.
鈥淚 have a better shot the longer the race is,鈥� Taylor told The Sports Capitol. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 quicker off the line and I think stride length and things like that might help me out as we start to stride.鈥�
鈥淚 would argue opposite,鈥� Turner told The Sports Capitol. 鈥淚 would think he would have me at the beginning, at the end I might be able to catch back up. I do agree he has that stride length. Let鈥檚 say you are running a 60-yard race. I feel like I鈥檓 better the last 30 yards than the first 30 yards. I don鈥檛 know. It probably would be pretty close.鈥�
Why won鈥檛 a determining race happen?
鈥淚n my mind, it doesn鈥檛 need to happen,鈥� Taylor said with a smirk. 鈥淗e鈥檚 faster than me, and I鈥檓 OK with that.鈥�
鈥淚 would never bank on anything [happening],鈥� Turner said. 鈥淏ecause if we raced and he beat me, I would look like an idiot. And vice-versa. I鈥檓 sure he would say the same.鈥�
There鈥檚 that. Threat of idiocy. A universal prevention issue in daily life.
Where the pair has been able to run free is on the bases this season. They are 1-2 in the National League in stolen bases. Taylor leads with 23. Turner is tied for second at 21 following Ender Inciarte stealing a base Wednesday afternoon when the Nationals were off.
The Nationals have a distant connection to the last pair of National League teammates to finish 1-2 in stolen bases. Marquis Grissom and Delino DeShields did it in 1992 for the Montreal Expos. It鈥檚 happened in the NL just four times since 1959. Taylor and Turner are on the path to do it for the first time in 26 years because each has become more adept at it, new manager Davey Martinez has provided them a green light and the Nationals鈥� offense needs every 90 feet it can muster.
Pitchers are fighting the pair in standard ways. Right-handers hold the ball a long time or vary their tempo. Left-handers push the limits of a supposed 45-degree angle from the edge of the rubber. That鈥檚 the line their kick leg is supposed to follow; 45 degrees or fewer back toward the body and a throw to first is not a balk. Open further, anything not to home is. It鈥檚 subjective math, if there is such a thing, and pitchers want to warp it while runners want to read it.
Taylor has always had top-end speed. Statcast had him at almost 20 mph when tracking down a fly ball last season. His athleticism is not in doubt. Same with Turner, who some argue is the fastest in the league.
However, Taylor鈥檚 23-for-27 success rate this season, and Turner鈥檚 21-for-23, suggest something more is going on. Let鈥檚 break it down with them.
Why they are running more, according to participants in recent (separate) conversations:
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e been more aggressive as a team,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淗ad the green light pretty much all season. Recently been getting on base a little bit more. So, it鈥檚 easier. I guess a combination of a lot things.鈥�
鈥淒usty would put on the red light sometimes, but (first base coach) Davey Lopes would kind of override it,鈥� Turner said. 鈥淲e probably got the red light a little bit more often in years past, but at the same time, I think we had all the opportunities to run that we do now. I would say it鈥檚 pretty even.鈥�
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How to fight pitchers holding the ball:
鈥淚 think over the years, I鈥檝e become better at kind of waiting,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淣ot getting too anxious or jumpy when the pitcher holds the ball. A lot of times, that鈥檚 their No. 1 defense. Just being in a position where you鈥檙e relaxed and you can kind of just wait while they hold, then you鈥檙e ready to go whenever they go.鈥�
鈥淚 think at some points, you鈥檒l rely on the hitter to call time, get you out of there, kind of do you a favor a little bit,鈥� Turner said. 鈥淏ut, also, for me and Mikey as well, if we鈥檙e on first base and they鈥檙e putting that much effort into us, there鈥檚 a good chance they鈥檙e going to make a mistake to whoever鈥檚 up at the plate. Sometimes I tell myself it鈥檚 OK not to steal because they鈥檙e so worried about me being here, that if I got to the next base, they don鈥檛 have to worry about me here. It鈥檚 a different situation. Yes, I鈥檓 in scoring position, but that kind of anxiety of 鈥業s he going to steal?鈥� isn鈥檛 there anymore. I think there鈥檚 advantages to just be on base in general and be a threat. If they鈥檙e paying that much attention, holding the ball that much, I think that helps your teammates.鈥�
Any tension while taking a lead can slow Taylor by putting him out of position or just simply causing an abandonment of running.
鈥淵ou can start leaning, get too much weight on your front foot because you鈥檙e ready to go, you鈥檙e ready to go, but he鈥檚 holding the ball, all of a sudden he comes over, you get picked,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淥r, you feel like you鈥檙e sitting there for so long, that eventually you just shut it down are some things that happened to me in the past when guys hold the ball for an extended period of time.鈥�
The pair spent two years with Lopes, considered a guru of base stealing, as the first base coach. That time put more options in Taylor鈥檚 pocket, ones he wants to keep there.
鈥淭here are a lot of things,鈥� Taylor said he learned from Lopes. 鈥淚 won鈥檛 really touch on too many of them because I think he taught me some things that give me an edge. I think the biggest thing is the mentality. He was very aggressive. If a guy was giving us an opportunity to give us a bag, he didn鈥檛 let it pass by. That鈥檚 how I try to go about it this year. If he鈥檚 slow enough to the plate and it鈥檚 a good situation to run, I鈥檓 not going to overthink it.鈥�
That brings us to the left-handers. Commonly, they are taught a 鈥渘ickel, dime, quarter鈥� approach to throwing to first. The nickel is a straight step toward the bag followed by a modest toss. The dime is a straight step and hard throw. The quarter is the full move: leg kick, angle toward home (while looking to the plate) followed by a hard throw to first.
鈥淚t changes from guy to guy,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淪ome guys will have certain tells and things you can get a jump off of. Some guys are readers and they鈥檙e kind of hanging in the air a little bit to see what you鈥檙e going to do. The 45-degree balk rule is kind of a blurred line I think. Some guys get away with maybe a little bit of a balk. There鈥檚 not much you can do about it in that situation, They鈥檙e trying to deceive the runner and make it look it look like they are going to the plate, and they get away with it sometimes.鈥�
鈥淟efties are different,鈥� Turner said. 鈥淪ome people are really good at making it look the same. Some people are really obvious it鈥檚 coming over. I think it鈥檚 kind of a feel thing with me. I can generally see when he made a move to home plate. He鈥檚 loaded his weight or moved his weight down the mound, then at some point I need to turn my eyes to home plate to watch the ball cross home plate. It鈥檚 funny because [on a recent] pick off, I didn鈥檛 see him throw the ball over. I looked at home plate waiting for the ball, then I was like, 鈥楾he ball鈥檚 not at home plate.鈥� That鈥檚 what happened there. I thought I had saw him make his move to the plate, so I moved my eyes and ended up getting picked off.
鈥淔or me, I just think one, it鈥檚 either a balk, or if not, it鈥檚 a really, really good move. I think you kind of got to tip your hat to those guys. It doesn鈥檛 happen too often, thankfully. Once, twice, three times a year. If you鈥檙e going to be an aggressive base runner, that鈥檚 OK with me. Obviously, you want to limit those as much as possible. But, there鈥檚 going to be a guy every now and then that has a really good move. You have to be prepared and battle over there. It鈥檚 like battling with two strikes at the plate. You鈥檝e got to battle over there at first base and make sure you鈥檙e not too far one way or the other. You want to make sure you鈥檙e ready to advance, but you don鈥檛 want to get picked off. It鈥檚 kind of like an ebb and flow.鈥�
The Nationals鈥� outfield overload will challenge their chances to finish 1-2. Taylor鈥檚 playing time has devolved into more of a platoon despite his recent leap at the plate. Turner will continue to play as the everyday shortstop. Inciarte is also a wrinkle. He and the Nationals鈥� pair are already creating a gap between themselves and the field.
However, if they stay healthy, and running, Taylor and Turner could grab a slice of history this season.
is the managing editor and co-founder of The Sports Capitol. He has spent 17 years in the sports editorial industry, working as a writer and layout editor, winning multiple awards in both positions. He has been an NFL beat writer, has worked as a member of the Baseball Writers鈥� Association of America for seven years, and is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association.
