Guardians' fleet feet are stealing The Show

WASHINGTON -- Terry Francona sat in the visiting manager’s office Saturday, again talking about new rules. He spoke with a writer from a non-sports publication about them before doing his standard daily meet with baseball writers also locked into how the sport would react early in the season.

Francona is 63 years old, which gives him the battling dualities of experience and stubbornness. He played in the National League when the St. Louis Cardinals sped through the 1980s, stealing 314 bases in 1985, the same year they lost Game 7 of the World Series. He’s a manager who later watched a homer-happy, analytics-swathed league was told that changes were necessary -- less time between pitches, larger bases and altered pickoff rules. Forced change can be daunting to those entrenched.

“Especially when you’re older,” Francona said. “You view the game through one lens forever, change can create some anxiety for older people, but I think [the changes are] good for the game.”

An uptick in stolen bases following the rule changes anchors Cleveland’s 9-6 start. It leads Major League Baseball with 24 steals in 28 attempts, including three on Saturday during a 6-4 win against Washington at Nationals Park. The persistent success, and burgeoning early-season total, present mind-rattling numbers when extrapolated. At this rate, the Guardians would steal 259 bases in 2023, outrunning the 1917 record-setting version of the team that swiped an organization-best 210. They would also become the first team since the 1986 Cardinals to steal more than 250 bases in a season.

Francona was more focused on stolen-base prevention than production in the offseason. The Guardians began talking to pitchers about their delivery times in December. That continued through Spring Training. An expected rampage on the basepaths made them -- and most of the league -- wary.

“Because we knew that if you didn’t control it, it could become almost an epidemic,” Francona said. “OK, good for the game. Not necessarily good if you’re trying to win that day.”

It's their opponents who are suffering.

Cleveland’s five wins in one-run games this season lead the AL. And its lack of power further emphasizes how important stolen bases can be in tight games. The Guardians are 29th in home runs despite a bump Saturday when José Ramírez hit his first of the season, moving him into 10th all-time on the team list.

Steven Kwan, Andrés Giménez, and Myles Straw stole bases Saturday, all in the first two innings. They sit in the top 13 across the AL. Straw is one off the MLB lead of eight, held by the O's Cedric Mullins.

“I think it wins us baseball games, most importantly,” Straw said. “I don’t think we do it just to do it. We do it with a lot of intent. Close baseball games, trying to get that extra run. That’s the kind of team we are.”

The 2023 Guardians are chasing ghosts. The 106-year-old team record came during the dead ball era when the Cleveland offense centered on Hall of Famer Tris Speaker, a team-leading three home runs from Jack Graney and Elmer Smith, and 50-plus stolen bases from Ray Chapman and Braggo Roth.

The Guardians are not alone. Stolen bases have roared upward across MLB in total and success rate. Cleveland finished third in baseball last season with 119. At this rate, it would exceed that total by this year’s All-Star break.

“With the rule changes, we’re just going to go more,” Straw said.

However, Francona pointed out two salient things about Cleveland’s rapid running start: It’s early in the season, plus this was part of the team's success last year.

“We’re just getting through [Saturday],” Francona said. “We don’t need to worry about August and September. We’ll play the game [Sunday], play the game the way we think puts us in the best position to win. Then we’ll move on to the next game.”