Anderson, White Sox staying aggressive on base paths
With two runners on in a scoreless ballgame against Seattle last week, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson found himself too far off second base.
On a wild pickoff play in which both White Sox runners were caught in run downs at one point, Anderson was tagged out at third. The play went down as caught stealing, Anderson's first of the season after eight successful stolen bases.
Even with the occasional base-running gaffe from their young players, the White Sox coaching staff likes the aggressive approach on the bases.
"The thing we can't forget is that he's still learning the game," bench coach Joe McEwing said of Anderson. "We're all going to make mistakes, no matter what. This game is not easy."
McEwing, a former third base coach, is the de facto base-running coach for the Sox. So far, the Sox have been one of the most aggressive teams on the base paths this season. Through Sunday's games, the Sox have an American League-leading 25 stolen bases (second in MLB behind the Washington Nationals with 31), and have been caught five times. The Sox are second in the MLB with 0.96 stolen base attempts per game.
Anderson's aggressiveness is one reason why. He said a lot of video work goes into scouting pitchers to help find an edge.
"We search the pitcher from head to toe," Anderson said. "Whatever sticks out to me that's not normally in his delivery, it alerts me to go. As we keep breaking down footage, we're going to keep getting better and better."
Anderson stole 15 bases last year in his first full season with the White Sox. He was caught just once. He also showed that ability in the minors, swiping 49 bases in Class AA in 2015 and 21 bases in 2016 combined with Triple A and the majors.
Last weekend against Houston, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander called out Anderson for being over-aggressive on the base paths in a five-run ballgame.
Anderson wasn't fazed.
"It's part of how we go about it," Anderson said. "The other night, with Verlander. So what? If they give me that base, I'm going to take it. We try not to care what other teams say or any negative things. We just play our game and have fun."
Anderson's not the only one with that approach, either. Leury Garcia has swiped five bases, and Yoan Moncada has four. Yolmer Sanchez and Adam Engel each have stolen three. The Sox are stealing bases at a pace that could easily surpass last season's 71 total stolen bases.
Anderson's not the only one going through a learning process. Moncada certainly qualifies too. McEwing called it a "constant teaching and learning experience" on the bases for the younger Sox.
Anderson acknowledged that being aggressive on the bases will lead to pick offs from time to time, and to getting caught stealing.
"That's not going to stop us from running," Anderson said. "We'll just keep trusting the work we're putting in and just keep looking at the film and believing what the coaches are preaching to us."
Taking chances
In the first month of the MLB season, Tim Anderson has stolen 8 bases to lead the White Sox. Here's a glance at team and individual stolen base stats over the past five seasons:
Sox stolen bases/times caught
2017: 71/31
2016: 77/36
2015: 68/42
2014: 85/36
2013: 105/42
Most stolen bases by Sox team: 280 in 1901
Fewest stolent bases by Sox team: 19 in 1950
White Sox stolen base leaders
2017: Tim Anderson, 15
2016: Todd Frazier, 15
2015: Adam Eaton, 18
2014: Alexei Ramirez, 21
2013: Alexei Ramirez, 30
Most stolen bases by player: 77 (Rudy Law in 1983)
Source: baseball-reference.com
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