ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick notes that the Reds’ 67 stolen bases as a team last season was the franchise’s lowest total since 1971. Shin-Soo Choo, now a Ranger, led the team with 20 stolen bases but was inefficient, needing 31 attempts to do so. Billy Hamilton ranked second on the team with 13 stolen bases in 14 attempts, and he was a September call-up.
Hamilton was a prolific base stealer in the Minors, stealing 75 last season, 155 in 2012, and 103 in 2011. He’s expected to be the team’s everyday center fielder and lead-off man in 2014.
Manager Bryan Price wants to team to be more aggressive on the bases, and he isn’t just talking about Hamilton. From Crasnick:“I know that we need to be able to create scoring opportunities, especially in that bottom third of our lineup,” Price said. “Being station to station didn’t give us as many opportunities to score as I would have liked. We have to be somewhat creative.”
Two candidates to run more often in 2014: Shortstop Zack Cozart and third baseman Todd Frazier.
Price added, “When we talk about being aggressive on the bases, it means working hard on your secondary leads, understanding where the fielders are, and knowing the game situation and score in the inning.”
Despite the reputation, the Reds were baseball’s seventh-best base running team according to Baseball Prospectus. Cozart was by far the team’s most productive runner, adding seven runs, five more than Jay Bruce in second place.
