The Cape League regular season is a little more than halfway done, and one thing that has remained a constant for the Y-D Red Sox in the first 22 games of the summer is their ambition to take extra bases.
Through both the peaks and valleys of this summer, Y-D has played with high energy on the basepaths. This aggressiveness has resulted in plenty of success for Y-D, with 31 stolen bases in 22 games this season. At the same time, some of these baserunning decisions have resulted in crucial mistakes, as the team has already run into 22 outs on the bases.
Trying to find the balance between aggressive baserunning and preserving smart decision-making was perhaps never more evident than in the second inning during the 10-5 loss to Brewster on Friday. With Y-D trailing 3-0 with one out in the second inning, Garrett Wright (Tennessee) stole second base to get into scoring position; however, he was thrown out trying to advance to third after the ball got away from Carson Tinney (Notre Dame) behind the plate.
It’s clear that this kind of gumption can have its benefits for Y-D, which was made apparent by the team stealing 15 bases over the course of its historic nine-game winning streak in June. During the heart of the winning streak, Y-D ran wild in a 6-3 victory over Wareham on June 28. Y-D swiped six bags in the first three innings of the game, leading to three early runs.
Cody Miller (East Tennessee State), who played his final game with the team Wednesday in preparation for the MLB Draft this weekend, encapsulated the chaos that Y-D tries to cause on the bases during his time with the team. Miller stole a team-high eight bases in 20 games, including three in that win against Wareham. Miller also took every opportunity to take an extra base, such as when he prolonged an inning by beating out a throw to second base on a routine grounder during the 4-3 win over Falmouth on June 22.
Brayden Dowd (USC) and Will Gasparino (UCLA) are two other players who have made an impact with their wheels this season. Gasparino recently showcased his speed during the game against Brewster on Friday, stealing his second base of the season in the first inning and beating out an infield hit on a perfectly placed bunt in the seventh. Dowd stole four bases in his first four games with Y-D and is the active team leader with five stolen bases, setting the table as the leadoff hitter.
Despite these standouts, Y-D has seen its fair share of baserunning mistakes during the recent struggles. During the month of July, when the team is 2-6-1, Y-D has been caught stealing five times compared to having just seven stolen bases. In a month where the Y-D offense has been struggling with the lowest OPS in the league, the team has let chances go to the wayside on multiple occasions, getting thrown out on the basepaths seven times in nine games.
Overall, Y-D has been caught stealing 13 times this season, which is tied for the second-highest total in the league. It appears the risks are outweighing the benefits in many instances when it comes to Y-D’s baserunning tendencies, as the team also has the second-lowest stolen base conversion rate in the league at 70%.
As the team tries to break out of its recent funk, Y-D will look to find the perfect combination of putting pressure on the opposition with its aggressiveness on the basepaths while avoiding costly errors.
