You might not guess it by looking at him, but Jayson Werth is a very good base runner. The 34-year-old veteran has stolen 37 bases in 43 attempts in three somewhat injury-plagued seasons with the Nationals. In his prime with the Phillies, under the tutelage of first base coach Davey Lopes, Werth stole 60 bases in 68 attempts. As a result, he ranks fourth all-time in stolen base success rate at 87 percent, according to Baseball Reference.
With that said, it should come as no surprise that Werth is happy about manager Matt Williams’ intent to have his team be more aggressive on the bases. Via James Wagner of the Washington Post:“The key to stealing bases is being aggressive,” Werth said. “We’re where we need to be. This will be the first year that it’s like this.”
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Werth also believes the Nationals could thrive under this new way of thinking about running. The Nationals coaches have freed up players to make reads on their own and have given veterans green lights to decide when to run. Players can use their instincts instead of relying on signs.
“That’s the only way to steal bases,” Werth said. “That’s how base stealers steal bases. That’s how guys become great base stealers. You don’t become a good base stealer by getting steal signs and stealing. That’s when you get thrown out. Those philosophies are right now. I’m really happy about that.”
Last season, Werth was one of four Nationals to reach double-digits in stolen bases, along with Bryce Harper, Denard Span, and Ian Desmond. Recent free agent signee Nate McLouth could join them as well.
