Rick Johnston is a former Canadian national team member and the Co-Founder/Director of Baseball Operations at The Baseball Zone in Mississauga, Ontario.
To be a success at the art of stealing second base, most will say that a particular player needs to be fast. Yes, that is true to a degree, but stealing second base is certainly not solely based on speed and speed alone. Mentality, technique and smarts are equally as important. Yes, one can argue that speed supersedes technique, smarts and mentality, but in the whole scheme of things, these four principles must work in concert with each other to improve the proficiency of stealing second base.
1. Mentality - The first key to any good base stealer is their mentality to “want” to steal the base rather than the mentality of “I hope I don’t get thrown out”. Every good base stealer must think of themselves as a thief, the one who quickly moves in for the steal and quickly achieves it. They have the mind set of “I am going to steal” and nothing is going to stop them from this act. That’s what makes a good thief.
2. Technique - Another critical area in stealing second base is the technique of the base stealer. There are many a debate on what technique works best, be it the drop step for some or the simple lean and go method. Some will even teach a method of pivot and cross over. These are three ways in which baserunners can turn into base stealers. So, what is the best method? The best method is the method that works best for each player. Base stealers must work hard on testing each method with sound observations, timing themselves, counting the number of steps they take, observing their initial direction step and using these to determine the best method. The key no matter what method is being used is for each base stealer to learn to get to where they need to get to in the quickest time frame using optimal movements. It is pretty simple when spoken in that context, the hard part is working hard at finding the best method. Just how does one find the best method?...trial and error and find out what works best!
3. Timing - Picking the right time to steal is not always easy. This is where the base stealer's smarts and the third base coach's understanding of the runner must work in concert with each other. At higher levels, base stealers that have success rates of 80% plus are usually guys that are given green lights to run on any count in any situation. The only sign they will ever see is the “no steal” sign or “red light”. However, at younger levels, smarts and savvy play a big role in base stealing. Base stealers need to understand what counts are running counts and what counts are hitters counts; they need to be aware of different types of moves that each pitcher possesses; pitchers' time to get the ball to the catcher, both a fastball and breaking ball; what type of arm strength and pop times catchers have at getting the ball to second base.
These are just 3 simple concepts that go into a base stealer always being on top of his game and, when done well, make him ready to pounce on second base when the offering is presented.
Sincerely,
Rick Johnston
Source: http://www.thebaseballzone.ca
