Republished fromĀ Ā with permission.
NATIONALS PARK ā The race is not going to happen. Thereās 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.
āI have a better shot the longer the race is,ā Taylor told The Sports Capitol. āI think heās quicker off the line and I think stride length and things like that might help me out as we start to stride.ā
āI would argue opposite,ā Turner told The Sports Capitol. āI 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. Letās say you are running a 60-yard race. I feel like Iām better the last 30 yards than the first 30 yards. I donāt know. It probably would be pretty close.ā
Why wonāt a determining race happen?
āIn my mind, it doesnāt need to happen,ā Taylor said with a smirk. āHeās faster than me, and Iām OK with that.ā
āI would never bank on anything [happening],ā Turner said. āBecause if we raced and he beat me, I would look like an idiot. And vice-versa. Iām sure he would say the same.ā
Thereās 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. Itās 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 Nationalsā 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. Thatās 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. Itās 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, Taylorās 23-for-27 success rate this season, and Turnerās 21-for-23, suggest something more is going on. Letās break it down with them.
Why they are running more, according to participants in recent (separate) conversations:
āI think weāve been more aggressive as a team,ā Taylor said. āHad the green light pretty much all season. Recently been getting on base a little bit more. So, itās easier. I guess a combination of a lot things.ā
āDusty would put on the red light sometimes, but (first base coach) Davey Lopes would kind of override it,ā Turner said. āWe 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 itās pretty even.ā
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How to fight pitchers holding the ball:
āI think over the years, Iāve become better at kind of waiting,ā Taylor said. āNot getting too anxious or jumpy when the pitcher holds the ball. A lot of times, thatās their No. 1 defense. Just being in a position where youāre relaxed and you can kind of just wait while they hold, then youāre ready to go whenever they go.ā
āI think at some points, youāll rely on the hitter to call time, get you out of there, kind of do you a favor a little bit,ā Turner said. āBut, also, for me and Mikey as well, if weāre on first base and theyāre putting that much effort into us, thereās a good chance theyāre going to make a mistake to whoeverās up at the plate. Sometimes I tell myself itās OK not to steal because theyāre so worried about me being here, that if I got to the next base, they donāt have to worry about me here. Itās a different situation. Yes, Iām in scoring position, but that kind of anxiety of āIs he going to steal?ā isnāt there anymore. I think thereās advantages to just be on base in general and be a threat. If theyāre paying that much attention, holding the ball that much, I think that helps your teammates.ā
Any tension while taking a lead can slow Taylor by putting him out of position or just simply causing an abandonment of running.
āYou can start leaning, get too much weight on your front foot because youāre ready to go, youāre ready to go, but heās holding the ball, all of a sudden he comes over, you get picked,ā Taylor said. āOr, you feel like youāre 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.ā
The pair spent two years with Lopes, considered a guru of base stealing, as the first base coach. That time put more options in Taylorās pocket, ones he wants to keep there.
āThere are a lot of things,ā Taylor said he learned from Lopes. āI wonāt 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 didnāt let it pass by. Thatās how I try to go about it this year. If heās slow enough to the plate and itās a good situation to run, Iām not going to overthink it.ā
That brings us to the left-handers. Commonly, they are taught a ānickel, dime, quarterā 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.
āIt changes from guy to guy,ā Taylor said. āSome guys will have certain tells and things you can get a jump off of. Some guys are readers and theyāre kind of hanging in the air a little bit to see what youāre 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. Thereās not much you can do about it in that situation, Theyāre 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.ā
āLefties are different,ā Turner said. āSome people are really good at making it look the same. Some people are really obvious itās coming over. I think itās kind of a feel thing with me. I can generally see when he made a move to home plate. Heās 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. Itās funny because [on a recent] pick off, I didnāt see him throw the ball over. I looked at home plate waiting for the ball, then I was like, āThe ballās not at home plate.ā Thatās 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.
āFor me, I just think one, itās either a balk, or if not, itās a really, really good move. I think you kind of got to tip your hat to those guys. It doesnāt happen too often, thankfully. Once, twice, three times a year. If youāre going to be an aggressive base runner, thatās OK with me. Obviously, you want to limit those as much as possible. But, thereās going to be a guy every now and then that has a really good move. You have to be prepared and battle over there. Itās like battling with two strikes at the plate. Youāve got to battle over there at first base and make sure youāre not too far one way or the other. You want to make sure youāre ready to advance, but you donāt want to get picked off. Itās kind of like an ebb and flow.ā
The Nationalsā outfield overload will challenge their chances to finish 1-2. Taylorās 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 Nationalsā 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 Writersā Association of America for seven years, and is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association.
