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As Part Of Emphasis On Base Running, Davis Shares Secrets Of Steals With Team

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

LAKELAND, FLA. - Detroit Tigers outfielder Rajai Davis stole 36 bases last season, more than all but five other players in the major leagues. No other Tiger had more than 15 steals. With that in mind, first base coach Omar Vizquel asked Davis to talk to the team Tuesday about how he prepares to run and how he decides whether to do so.

"A lot of times players respond as well or better to information given to them from other players as opposed to coaches doing all the speaking," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said Wednesday. "I know Omar asked Raj to talk a little bit about what he does when he's stealing a base because Raj is one of the better ones in the game, and Raj had some good insight into it. Now, is Nick Castellanos going to turn into Rajai? That I doubt, but hopefully if he could take a tidbit here or there, it makes him a better baserunner."

In the first season with Ausmus at the helm, the Tigers ranked seventh in the majors in stolen bases, up from 30th the previous season. In 2013, Detroit recorded only 35 steals, the league worst by a significant margin. In 2014, the Tigers nabbed 106.

"We definitely got a lot more aggressive than they were the previous year," Davis said with a laugh. "We were able to take advantage, scoring some more runs that way just by taking two bases instead of just going base to base. I can even remember Miggy, a ball hit to left field, Miggy goes, he was on second, he went to third, but just because he was aware of what was going on, he scored without a throw. Normally he's going to just stay there, but because the outfielder thought, 'He's not going to run' - Miggy knew that ... and he ended up scoring a run without a throw at home.

"That's like a whoop-di-doop, just gotcha, sleeping," Davis added. "He caught him sleeping. And those are the type of things that we can do - a lot, lot, lot more of us can do - just with paying attention, and that's the kind of things we were talking about."

Ausmus encourages players to be aggressive on the base paths, and Davis believes the team has plenty of room to grow in that respect. He expects players will embrace the opportunity to go for extra bases, especially when friendly competition among teammates kicks in.

"I think the sky's the limit, really, because the more somebody does, the more you're going to want to do it," Davis said, smiling. "This is where the, I guess, being a man and being, 'Okay, you can do it, I can do it, too,' but it's all for good. We're all challenging one another to win, and we want to score runs. This is a way to help us score runs."

Activity on the base paths helps teams score in more ways than one; while stealing obviously gets players closer to scoring, it also distracts the pitcher from the hitter.

"It's going to be very difficult to be really good at two things at one time, so if he's focused on guys that are on the base and pitches that he has to throw, the batter at the plate, then it's too many things going on for him," Davis said. "Chances are, the odds are in our favor, and that's what we want.

"That's the fun part of the game, just the cat-and-mouse part of the game that I really enjoy," Davis added, "especially when you know the pitcher's engaged with you, you know the pitcher's responding to you, you know the pitcher, he's got to focus because he keeps throwing over - 'Uh oh, you keep throwing over, that means you're focused on me. It's not a good sign for you.'"

Tigers reliever Joba Chamberlain confirmed that players who run tend to be a distraction, even though the pitcher knows which players are threats to steal and has plans to proceed accordingly.

"In the back of your mind, you're like, 'Okay, I know I have to execute a pitch because he can put himself in scoring position at any time,' so there is the element of, 'Do I have to be quick to the plate, do I have to hold longer?' and that sometimes affects the outcome of the pitch, so yeah, it's a part of the game that you have to try to control as well as they're trying to control it themselves with you," Chamberlain said. "It's a cat-and-mouse game, that's for sure."

 

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