DENVER – In March, I wrote that despite bringing back a remarkably similar lineup to the one that saw the majority of playing time in 2017, the 2018 Colorado Rockies were nonetheless going to add a new element to their offense.
Specifically, this iteration of the club had all the makings of a team that could create a bit more havoc on the basepaths.
While much of that projection was based on eventualities that have not come to fruition—more playing time for Raimel Tapia and better on-base percentage from Ian Desmond chief among them—the results thus far have shown that the Rockies were insistent on pumping up this part of their game, even if it wasn’t always going to come from their fastest players.
Though, one of the most predictable contributors has been Trevor Story who has begun to draw more walks, leading to more opportunities to show off his excellent athleticism. He leads the club with eight stolen bases. Combined, the Rockies have swiped 36 bags, good for fourth in the National League. They finished 13th last year.
And this isn’t by accident.
“I think it was more of a, if you want to use the word, philosophical decision,” says manager Bud Black. “It was something we talked about more in the offseason and spring training, that we wanted to just do some applying pressure on the defense, on the pitcher-catcher combination. Because I think we have the players who want to do it. We have Story, Dahl, Charlie, who is a good baserunner, Nolan is a smart baserunner, DJ… [they can] read a pitcher. A lot of guys we have in our system [can run] so we think it’s a viable offensive weapon to be able to steal bases. And we really like the pressure it creates on the defense. And not only the stolen bases, but it’s the aggressive baserunning as well.”
It all comes back to an overarching mentality Black wants to see his club play within all aspects of the game.
“I think we play aggressive on the bases,” he continued. “I think we play aggressive defense, too. We want to really force the action. That’s how we want to play. Whether it’s pitching, whether it’s running the bases, and we want to be aggressive offensively. It hasn’t really shown up with a lot of our at-bats over the course of the season so far. But, we’ve got to get to that point where we’re attacking in the batter’s box, on the bases, on the mound, on defense. Not afraid to make plays, not afraid to dive. That’s how we want to play. That’s how I see us playing and I think that’s how the players see themselves playing.”
Sounds like an exciting brand of baseball that should be played confidently by a team in first place. Especially if they want to continue to be in first place.
