'He's special': Ruiz an electrifying force for A's

OAKLAND -- Esteury Ruiz has already raced his way into the record books on a few occasions this season. On Tuesday, the speedster notched yet another impressive feat.

With a stolen base in the third inning of a 2-1 victory over the Yankees at the Coliseum on Tuesday, Ruiz became the first A’s player to steal 40 bases in a season since Coco Crisp, who swiped 49 bags in 2011. In Oakland history, Ruiz is the 11th player to reach 40 in a season, a mark which has only been reached 27 times.

Now just one stolen base away from matching last year’s MLB-leading total of 41 by Jon Berti, Ruiz is the first player to reach 40 steals before July since Billy Hamilton with the Reds in 2015, a season in which he finished with 57.

On pace for 80 stolen bases, Ruiz would easily shatter Kenny Lofton’s AL rookie single-season record of 66 in 1992. It would be the most in a single season since A’s legend Rickey Henderson swiped 93 bags in 1988. Ruiz already surpassed Henderson for the second-most stolen bases by a rookie in Oakland history, and he remains well in line to overtake the franchise rookie record of 42 held by Mitchell Page in 1977.

“This kid does some special things on the baseball field,” manager Mark Kotsay said of Ruiz. “He continues to do good things on the field. At 40 bases in 81 games, that’s a pretty good feat right there.”

While Ruiz’s elite 80-grade speed has garnered most of the attention, an underrated aspect of his game has been his ability to produce in big moments. He preceded his 40th stolen base by knocking home Tyler Wade -- who tripled with one out in the third -- with a single to plate Oakland’s first run.

Among all Major League hitters, Ruiz’s .403 (29-for-72) batting average with runners in scoring position ranks fourth. Only Jonah Heim of the Rangers (.406), Joey Meneses of the Nationals (.440) and Luis Arraez of the Marlins (.450) carry a higher average in such situations.

“I feel like a lot of people aren’t talking about what he’s doing with runners in scoring position,” said A’s starter Paul Blackburn, who picked up his first win of 2023 after limiting New York to one run on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. “The guy gets up there any time someone is on second and third and gets a hit. That’s very hard to do, especially with this being his first full year [in the big leagues] and getting a taste of what it’s like up here. He’s been unbelievable for us.”

When it comes to players who could represent the A’s at this year’s All-Star Game in Seattle on July 11, Ruiz might have the best case. Few players around baseball provide the entertainment he brings on a near-daily basis.

It’s to the point where opposing teams know Ruiz is going to go. They look to devise any type of game plan that might be able to stop him. Most of the time, that attempt is to little avail, evidenced by his 40-for-48 success rate on stolen base attempts this season.

On Tuesday, Yankees starter Jhony Brito twice threw over to first base in an effort to let Ruiz know he was aware of the speed threat. A few moments later, Ruiz took off for second and easily beat the throw from catcher Jose Trevino, the reigning AL Gold and Platinum Glove Award winner.

After Tony Kemp walked and Ryan Noda flew out, Trevino was able to successfully nab Ruiz on an attempted steal of third base to end the inning, just Ruiz's eighth time being caught on the basepaths this season.

“He’s special,” Wade said. “What he does, it’s unbelievable. Getting 40 bases in a whole year is impressive. The fact that we’re at the halfway point and he’s got that, it’s impressive. I see him over there at his locker all day studying stuff, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s getting those results.”

In addition to naming Ruiz as a player who merits All-Star consideration prior to Tuesday’s game, Kotsay also mentioned Lucas Erceg among the mix of deserving candidates. In what was a well-pitched victory all around for the A’s, Erceg was among the standouts, inheriting a runner in relief of Blackburn with one out in the sixth and finishing with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

The outing marked Erceg’s ninth consecutive scoreless appearance. Over that stretch, the rookie right-hander has allowed just five hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts over 10 2/3 innings.

Erceg has stranded all 12 of his inherited runners, tied for the most in the Majors among pitchers with no inherited runners scored.

“You can’t say enough about the job this young man has done coming here and performing in a role that we’ve needed,” Kotsay said. “He’s stepping up right now.”